Façade van Binnenhof 6 te Den Haag before 1901

This photograph titled Façade van Binnenhof 6 te Den Haag was made by an anonymous photographer for Monumentenzorg. The image is an elevation of the building, constructed from multiple light and dark tones, rendered using a sepia filter. There's something about the tonal uniformity of this photograph that reminds me of early modernist paintings. Like a cubist painting, the photograph presents a flat plane in multiple dimensions through perspective and composition. This idea is reinforced in the work through the contrast between light and shadow. Notice how the photographer allows us to see the depth of the building by focusing on a particular part of the structure and how this affects the emotional experience. It feels almost melancholic, nostalgic for a period that we never experienced. This feeling is probably heightened by the monochromatic nature of the image. This photograph is a conversation with past artists and photographers, an ongoing exchange of ideas across time that emphasizes ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed meanings.