Interieur van de Hervormde Kerk te Middelharnis na de brand 1904

This photograph of the charred remains of the Hervormde Kerk in Middelharnis is all texture and tone. There's an almost painterly quality to the gradations of grey, like a grisaille study for a history painting. It's tempting to describe what is literally depicted here – a ruined church, destroyed in a fire – but I'm more interested in the way the anonymous photographer has framed the devastation. Look at the way the light falls across the crumbling plasterwork, accentuating its rough, tactile quality. Then notice how those arched windows at the back have become frames for the trees. The building becomes one with nature. The photo reminds me a little of some of the paintings of Gerhard Richter, the way he layers and scrapes paint to evoke memory and history. Like Richter, this photographer uses the material qualities of their medium to create something that’s not just about what we see but about how we feel.