Trechterzwam bij Het Loo in Apeldoorn c. 1900 - 1930

Richard Tepe made this photograph, "Trechterzwam bij Het Loo in Apeldoorn" without a date. It shows us how a simple arrangement can be magical. Look at the interplay of light and shadow, Tepe coaxes out so much tonality and depth using a limited palette. The mushrooms are these ghostly figures emerging from the dark, almost like apparitions. I love how the textures play off each other: the smooth caps of the mushrooms against the rough, chaotic bed of leaves and twigs. There's this one mushroom stem that curves in a perfect S-shape; it's like a deliberate calligraphic mark in the midst of this natural sprawl. It reminds me of some of the strange shapes you find in the work of Alfred Kubin, who was also into the dark and mysterious. The image revels in ambiguity. It's a reminder that art, like nature, thrives on the unexpected, offering us a space to wander and wonder.