Königstrasse in Berlijn 1903 - 1910

Geldolph Adriaan Kessler captured this stereograph of Königstrasse in Berlin, but we don't know exactly when. It’s a photograph, of course, so the marks aren’t made in paint. But think about how the photographer must have composed the shot, how long the exposure time was, and then how the image was developed in the darkroom. It’s still a process of layering and building an image, just like painting. The sepia tone gives the scene a melancholy feel, like an old memory. The light is diffuse, almost foggy, obscuring detail and lending a softness to the hard architecture of the buildings. If you look at the wet street, you can see how the light reflects and shimmers. It makes the street seem almost liquid, like a river flowing through the city. It reminds me a little of Atget, the way he captured Paris at the turn of the century, with a similar sense of quiet observation and a focus on the everyday details of urban life. Both artists invite us to slow down and really look at the world around us, to find beauty and interest in the ordinary.