Gezicht op Bern 1895 - 1910

This photo, titled "Gezicht op Bern," is anonymous but it lives in the Rijksmuseum. It’s an amazing cityscape in shades of grey, with the Alps ghosting the horizon. The way it's rendered reminds me of printmaking, where the image emerges gradually through layers and process. Look at the way the tones create depth, almost like a blurry memory. The surface is smooth, no texture, everything feels evened out. There’s a softness that makes you want to lean in close and search for details. Notice how the steeple pierces the sky, a vertical exclamation point to the low sprawl of the city. The relationship between that man-made tower and the natural peaks of the mountains is so interesting; like two different kinds of ambition facing off. Think about Bernd and Hilla Becher, with their photographic typologies; this photo is a kindred spirit, cataloging the world, one building at a time. It's a document, but it’s also poetry.