Gezicht op Xanten, 1672 1900 - 1903

This panoramic view of Xanten was made by the frères Moreau in 1672. It's monochrome, gray wash, and incredibly long and narrow. I imagine the brothers setting up their easels side by side, or maybe even working on the same oversized sheet of paper. One starts on the left with the windmill, the other on the right with the church spires, and slowly they meet in the middle. What were they thinking about as they painted? What stories did they tell each other? Did they bicker? This image is a record of not just a place, but of a shared experience, a collaboration. There's a subtle but steady hand at play, the tonal variation indicating changing weather, and the subtle blurring of edges making it feel ephemeral. In making a painting, you open up a space of inquiry, where the act of seeing becomes an act of knowing. And it’s work like this by the frères Moreau that teaches us how to see.