Poort van een tempel in Shiba, Tokyo, Japan before 1903

Kusakabe Kimbei made this photograph, Poort van een tempel in Shiba, Tokyo, Japan, sometime during his career in the late 19th century. It’s one of those images that gets under your skin, you know? It’s not just about the scene, but how it’s presented, like a stage set. The way the color is applied, it’s almost like painting. Look at those trees! There’s a looseness there, and a real sense of process, of building up layers, which reminds me of the way I layer colour in my own work. The surface has this dreamy quality, and the light has this way of washing over everything, blurring the edges of the gate. It reminds me a bit of early colourists like Bonnard, in the way that Kimbei uses color to create a mood and atmosphere rather than just describe a scene. What is the gate keeper thinking? This is a piece that reminds us that art isn’t just about seeing, it’s about feeling, about experiencing.