Amsterdam/ Rembrandtplein 1924

This is a postcard made by Weenenk & Snel, which captures Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam. The whole scene is rendered in shades of gray, and it's interesting to think about how the photograph creates a kind of ready-made, like the kind Duchamp was into. What I mean by ready-made is the way that it flattens the world out, and the way the composition is just sort of there - found. It's a kind of non-hierarchical approach to the subject, where the foreground and background are treated with similar focus. I like how the texture of the buildings contrasts with the softer forms of the trees, and how the light kind of dissolves the details in certain areas. Look at the way the figures are placed, tiny and anonymous against the scale of the architecture. There’s a funny tension between the depth of field and the monochromatic tones. To me, that’s what makes this photograph compelling, and makes me think about the work of someone like Atget. It embraces imperfection and invites us to find beauty in the everyday.