Man in een schildersatelier c. 1900 - 1910

This photograph captures a painter in their studio, palette in hand, pipe clenched between their teeth, by an artist known as G. Hidderley. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Hidderley, to capture this other painter mid-creation, surrounded by the tools and chaos of their craft. You see the easels, the brushes crammed into pots, the smeary canvases... and I wonder, was that larger painting behind the sitter a work-in-progress? Or maybe it’s a palimpsest of past ideas, each layer contributing to the final form. It reminds me that painting is a conversation across time. Each artist builds upon the discoveries of those who came before, adding their own voice to the chorus. It’s about seeing, feeling, and then trying to find a way to share that vision with the world, even when the path isn’t clear, or fixed.