Huizen, brug en waterval in Thiers 1903

This landscape showing houses, a bridge, and a waterfall in Thiers was made as an albumen print. The sepia tone gives it a dreamy, slightly melancholy feel. Look at how the soft focus makes everything seem a bit blurred, like a memory fading around the edges. It’s less about capturing every sharp detail, and more about evoking a mood, an atmosphere. The dark, mossy textures on the bridge contrast with the smooth, flowing water. Notice the little figures on the bridge, they are frozen in time. This photograph feels like looking at a place caught between the man-made and the natural world, a place where buildings and landscape are inextricably linked. It reminds me a little of some of Gustave Courbet’s landscapes, particularly in its attention to the textures of rocks, water, and foliage. It seems to suggest that art is a continuous conversation, constantly echoing and reshaping itself.