Kerkelijke processie 1900 - 1940

This small black and white photograph captures a “Kerkelijke processie,” or church procession, by an anonymous artist, sometime in the past. It looks like a sunny day. There's all this gorgeous light illuminating the figures and the cobbled ground, but the people are what make the image compelling. You can almost feel the movement and rhythm of the procession, kids walking down the street holding banners. It's the way the light catches on their little dresses and hair ribbons that's beautiful. The people nearest to us are so sharp in contrast to the blurred background, where the procession continues, with the architecture fading into gray. All of this gives the photo depth and a sense of really being there. There is a vulnerability in this image, a sense of openness and the unknown that reminds me of Diane Arbus’s images. I love how it captures a moment in time. It makes me wonder about what the people are thinking and feeling. Art is about capturing a feeling more than a reality.