Lezende vrouw aan tafel op een veranda 1907 - 1935

Adolphe Burdet captured this tiny image of a woman reading at a table on a veranda, probably with some kind of camera. It's hard to tell what kind of process he used, but it's pretty clear that it embraces ambiguity. The light in this piece is incredible; soft and atmospheric like a Degas. It feels like it's been filtered through the leaves of the veranda. Burdet is playing with surface textures, and I can feel the grainy-ness of the film, which gives it an ephemeral feeling. Look at the way the red flowers bleed into the white vase - these colors speak to each other, like a conversation. For me this photo is a reminder that art isn't about perfection, it's about the process and the exchange of ideas. It reminds me of Vuillard, who also worked with small scale images of domestic interiors, or even the CoBrA group!