Buitenzijde van de Berkelpoort te Valkenburg 1890 - 1920

This photograph of the Buitenzijde van de Berkelpoort te Valkenburg was made by an anonymous photographer—Monumentenzorg. The image shows a weathered stone gate reclaimed by nature, with determined workers setting up a foreground of cobblestones. What was it like to be the photographer, capturing this scene? It feels like a moment frozen in time. Look at how the light reveals the texture of the stone and the foliage. You can almost feel the rough edges and the dampness of the stone under your fingertips. I wonder if the photographer was thinking about the relationship between man and nature, between permanence and transience? The photograph feels like it's been constructed in a way, not totally unlike how a painter might approach a canvas. Each of the subjects here are in conversation with another. The workers reference the bricks, the vegetation consumes the ruin, the camera captures the scene.