Dimensions: height 231 mm, width 170 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
This toned photograph shows the Toren van de Hervormde Kerk te Leusden. The way the photographer has used light, or rather, the way light has affected the photographic chemicals, gives this image a kind of soft focus, where detail is lost in service of shape. The palette is limited; the photograph has a sepia tone, which gives it a warm, antique feel. This is a result of the printing process, where the silver particles in the photographic paper are replaced with a more stable compound, like selenium or gold. It is easy to forget how much craft and skill was needed to make photographs in the early days. This image reminds me of the photographs by Eugène Atget; though, unlike Atget, the photographer of this image is unknown to us, they were both creating lasting images of changing places. Like all photographs, this is both an objective record and an artwork, speaking to us across time about the nature of seeing and remembering.
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