Gevangenis in Nauplion before 1910

This photograph of a prison in Nauplion, printed in a book by Frédéric Boissonnas, feels like a layered experience, like a story told through sepia tones. The process is visible, like the afterimage of a memory. What strikes me is how the greyscale palette transforms the stones and the figures within the photograph into abstract shapes, creating a sense of distance. It’s as though the artist is interested in the play of light and shadow as much as the architectural forms themselves. If you look closely, you can see where the darker tones bleed slightly, hinting at the chemical processes involved in its creation. This reminds me of the work of Eugène Atget, another photographer who captured the quiet beauty of urban landscapes, but also I am reminded of Gerhard Richter and his blurred, melancholic images. There’s something poetic about how Boissonnas captures the prison. It becomes a timeless symbol, a space of confinement, but also a space of reflection, maybe even escape.