Johannes van Zijll de Jong op motor bij bosweg 1930 - 1935

This little photograph, 'Johannes van Zijll de Jong op motor bij bosweg' captures a moment, a person, a place, and an emotion. It’s probably shot on gelatin silver, small and intimate. It's hard to say who made this, but I bet the act of taking it felt like painting to them. I see that solitary figure on the road, the long road, and I'm thinking about journeys, not just across the land, but into the self. I bet they chose this spot for the converging lines, and that hazy light, those stark white trees against the gloom behind. I get this sense of quiet solitude, and this kind of searching, you know? Like Fairfield Porter or Vilhelm Hammershoi or something. The anonymous artist makes us feel like we’re right there with Johannes, on that lonely road. They’re asking us to think about being alone and moving forward and whether those two things have to be the same.