Binnenplaats van de gevangenis op de Prinsegracht te Den Haag before 1908

This photograph, "Binnenplaats van de gevangenis op de Prinsegracht te Den Haag," probably taken around 1918, is credited to Monumentenzorg, though the actual artist is anonymous. It's a black and white image, but try to imagine what it might have been like to make this photograph. I sympathize with the photographer here; imagine them searching for the right angle to capture this plain prison courtyard, maybe thinking about how to flatten the space, or what it represents. The bricks in the wall could be a rough impasto, like the thick strokes in a Courbet. I find myself drawn to the barred windows, they cut into the wall and communicate a feeling of sadness. I wonder what this photographer thought of what was inside, and how much it played into what they thought they were photographing. The photographer, although nameless, participates in this ongoing conversation that artists have across time. This is a picture of a prison that’s become like a feeling.