Slaapkamer op landgoed De Wildbaan, Driebergen 1903 - 1907

This is a photograph of a bedroom at De Wildbaan estate in Driebergen, taken by Henry Pauw van Wieldrecht. What I love about old photographs is how they show you something in its entirety, but also kind of obscure it, because the focus isn't the same as our eyes. Look at the carpet, for example. It almost vibrates with pattern, which is softened because it's all in one color. This means your eye travels over the surface of the image, jumping from one thing to another. It's like the artist is interested in showing you everything all at once. I mean, what did this bedroom feel like? Were there lots of voices? You can see the mirror reflecting light into the room. It makes you consider what it might be like to be in the space, even now, all these years later. It reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter, another artist who made use of photographs. Both of them are dealing with a world we can't quite touch.