Gezicht op het Kasteel van Josselin 1901

This sepia photograph of the Chateau de Josselin, was shot by Delizy, and it’s, well, gorgeous. It’s like a memory, faded and romantic, that captures the formidable castle overlooking the river. Look at the surface of the water: those blurred reflections and the way the bridge bisects the composition create a sense of depth and tranquility, while the architectural details of the chateau are carefully rendered. It’s a study in contrasts between solidity and fluidity, permanence and change. The subdued palette heightens the sense of nostalgia. It reminds me of Atget, and his photographs of Paris; that feeling of preservation, of capturing a moment that’s already slipping away. The very act of photography becomes a way of stopping time, even though time, as this photograph shows us, keeps marching on.