Neue Palais in Potsdam gezien vanachter het bewaakte hek 1903

This old photograph by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler captures the Neue Palais in Potsdam from behind a guarded gate. It's all in shades of sepia and gray, like looking into a memory. I imagine Kessler standing there, camera in hand, feeling a certain distance from the grandeur beyond the gate. What was he thinking as he framed this shot? Maybe about access, or the layers of history and power embedded in this landscape? There's a softness to the image, a kind of gentle blur that makes the scene feel both present and far away. It reminds me of other photographers who used light and shadow to evoke mood, like Julia Margaret Cameron. Photography, like painting, is about capturing a moment, but also about adding your own emotional layer. It’s a record of an idea, a moment of looking. Kessler's view through the gate invites us to reflect on what we see, and what remains just out of reach.