Zijaanzicht van een terp bij Tószeg 1928

Jan Lanting took this photograph of a terp near Tószeg. Looking at the subtle gradations of light and shadow, I can imagine Lanting carefully adjusting his camera, waiting for the perfect moment to capture the texture of the earth and the wild grasses. There’s a stillness in this image, a sense of quiet observation, as if Lanting wanted to record not just what he saw, but also what he felt standing in that place. It reminds me of some early landscape photography where artists were trying to figure out how to make a picture of what’s in front of them into something that carries meaning, both physical and emotional. It's like he’s saying, "Here, look at this ordinary thing, this little hill, and see the beauty and history in it." And isn’t that what art is all about? Pointing out the extraordinary in the everyday. It makes you wonder about all the other artists who’ve stood in similar landscapes, trying to capture a moment, a feeling, a place in time.