Overgroeid gebouw aan een binnenplaats (aangeduid als 'La Charpenterie'), vermoedelijk bij een landhuis of kasteel in Frankrijk 1903

Curator: It’s an eerie image, don’t you think? Editor: Absolutely! Overgrown, melancholy. Like a secret garden someone forgot existed. Curator: Indeed. Here we have a 1903 photograph, attributed to Delizy, titled "Overgroeid gebouw aan een binnenplaats," which translates to "Overgrown building in a courtyard," likely part of a French country house or castle. It resides in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: The way the vines are consuming the architecture gives it a certain…poetic sadness. The light feels trapped, almost. Did you notice those stools and equipment over to the side? Curator: An interesting observation! Considering that Delizy practiced photography as a fine art, often documenting scenes in France, these photographic elements on the right might represent her conscious involvement, a record of that past era—perhaps a statement on nature's power to reclaim spaces altered by humans? Editor: Yes, reclaiming. Beautifully said. I’m struck by how little the human form intrudes on the image. It makes you wonder what narratives this lost place could tell us about class and labor. Curator: Well, country houses were potent symbols of landed gentry and socio-economic class, so in that sense Delizy's photo evokes some discussion of the relations among the powerful, the working classes and nature itself, with this near-derelict castle overcome by mother nature's sublime beauty. I imagine such a narrative challenges traditional conceptions of status or wealth. Editor: Definitely. It has echoes of gothic romanticism as well. All this makes me want to wander those forgotten places! I have no problem with these old institutions gradually dissolving back into wildness... it brings new life! Curator: A fitting perspective, and now I must confess this image leads me to think that history isn't static or set in stone but fluid; old edifices are destined to fall to ruin, be changed by those occupying its former rooms, etc. Editor: Nicely put! I really enjoyed revisiting that hidden gem today.