Ruïnes van een tempel met daar omheen bomen before 1912

Coppin-Goisse made this small photograph of temple ruins with trees, and the effect is less about architectural detail and more about light. The monochromatic sepia tones give a dreamlike atmosphere. The photograph's surface has a gentle texture, a kind of soft, aged quality that complements the subject. I keep wondering about the choices made while framing. Was the intention to capture a sense of fading grandeur or to frame the ruins within the context of nature’s reclamation? In the upper part of the image, there’s a burst of sunlight that bleeds into the surrounding branches. It’s this ethereal quality that gives the photograph a sense of timelessness. It reminds me of the way Caspar David Friedrich used light to convey the sublime power of nature. Art is always speaking to itself across time, don’t you think?