Groep honden bij Istanbul before 1914

This photograph, “Groep honden bij Istanbul,” captures a moment in Istanbul through the lens of Sébah & Joaillier. Look at the tonal range – it’s almost monochromatic, a subtle dance of light and shadow that feels both immediate and distant. The texture is what gets me; the way the light plays across the rough ground where the dogs are gathered. You can almost feel the dust and the heat rising from the parched earth. Then, your eye travels up to the city itself, layered and complex, built up the hillside. It’s a soft focus, but full of detail. There's a particular dog in the foreground, almost staring directly at us. It anchors the whole scene. It is wild yet strangely intimate. Much like the paintings of Courbet, the photograph embraces the grit and the ambiguity of everyday life. It reminds us that art doesn't always need to be polished or refined; sometimes, it's in the raw, unscripted moments that we find the most truth.