Man voert kippen voor een café c. 1905 - 1907

Folkert Idzes de Jong captured this photographic moment of a man feeding chickens outside a cafe, sometime between 1877 and 1929. It is monochromatic, sepia toned and small. I'm wondering, what's the story here? Maybe it was just another day, capturing a simple scene outside a rural cafe with some chickens, or maybe he was making something bigger. We, as artists, are always looking, aren't we? Always trying to capture light and form, to make something out of the ordinary from the ordinary stuff of life. I love the texture of the building, the way it catches the light, and the movement of the chickens as they cluster around the man’s feet. I can feel him trying to capture not just the light and shadow, but the very essence of this everyday scene, giving it meaning and depth. It makes me think of all the other artists who’ve come before and after, all trying to distill something real and true from the chaos of life.