Portaal van de Sint-Petrus'-Bandenkerk te Hilvarenbeek 1910

This photograph of the Portaal van de Sint-Petrus'-Bandenkerk te Hilvarenbeek was taken in August 1910. It has a limited tonal range, mainly shades of gray and brown, and a tightly cropped composition. The surface is textured with the rough hewn quality of the brick, the mortar, and the shadows between them all. You can feel the weight of the building, that the walls are thick, and that the doorway is narrow. Light peeks through the window above the door, as if to tempt you to come inside. The overall impression is one of quiet strength and groundedness. I think of Eugène Atget, who photographed Paris at around the same time, and how his project to document the city brick by brick, building by building, reminds us of the history contained within architecture. It’s a conversation across time, each artist building on the work of the last. Art doesn't give us fixed answers, but invites us to ask more questions.