Noordzijde van de Sint-Bartholomeusbasiliek te Meerssen 1890 - 1920

This photograph, a view of the North side of the Sint-Bartholomeusbasiliek in Meerssen, was made by an anonymous photographer from Monumentenzorg. Look at how the basilica is caught, almost like an illustration of line and form in monochrome; the light is allowed to do all the shading. There’s something both distant and immediate about this photograph. Maybe it is the flatness of the facade of the building contrasting with the detail of the stonework of the church. There’s a tension here; the eye doesn’t know where to focus. The longer I look the more it reminds me of a photorealist painting, like Gerhard Richter in his representational mode. And yet, in a way, all photographs are paintings: it’s all about the layering of light and shade in order to evoke a feeling. It's like a visual echo resonating through time. Art is just one giant conversation across generations anyway, right?