Bekroning van de preekstoel in de Nieuwe Kerk te Amsterdam 1911

This photograph captures the ornately carved pulpit in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, and while we don't know who made it, the act of creation itself is what I find compelling. Imagine the artisan, their mind ablaze with images of saints, scrolls and arches, picking up their tools, and beginning to chip away at the wood. It's an anonymous work, which somehow makes the artist seem more approachable. The monochromatic tones focus my attention on the textures, inviting me to run my fingers along the carved reliefs and imagine the hours spent by the maker. Each tiny figure must have taken days. And for what? A church. A commission. Maybe they were just doing their job, but I like to think they put a little bit of their soul into it. That's the thing about art, right? It's never really anonymous. Even when we don't know the artist's name, their hand is still there. It's like a conversation across time, from their hands to ours.