Man met paard en wagen in Rusland 1903 - 1904

Joseph Cheetham’s photograph ‘Man met paard en wagen in Rusland’ at the Rijksmuseum is small but full of a kind of quiet waiting. I’m really drawn to the way the whole scene is captured in these muted, earthy tones, like it’s been absorbed into the landscape itself. The horse looks calm, patient almost, and the man in the carriage, he’s just there, present, like he’s part of the whole setup. You can see the textures, the rough wood of the fence, the soft foliage of the trees in the background. It's like time stopped for a moment. I wonder what Cheetham was thinking when he captured this scene? Was he struck by the simplicity of it all, or the way it encapsulates the essence of daily life in this small Russian village? It’s funny how a simple image like this can trigger so much in your mind. I feel like artists are always in conversation with each other across time, riffing on ideas, echoing gestures, and pushing the boundaries of what art can be.