Huis en een schoolgebouw in Scharnegoutum, op de achtergrond een kerktoren c. 1905 - 1907

Folkert Idzes de Jong made this photograph of a house and a school building in Scharnegoutum, with a church tower in the background sometime between 1877 and 1929. This is like an uncanny dream world that someone has carefully constructed. A row of darkened windows runs across the buildings: I can imagine being a kid in school, and peering out one of those windows, looking for a distraction. The sepia tones give it an aged feeling. The lighting is uniform and even, like the buildings are patiently sitting for their portrait. The bare tree in the centre could have been placed there by De Jong – this photograph is a composition where the arrangement of the scene is crucial. It’s a reminder that seeing, thinking, and photographing are intertwined. Just as painters respond to and converse with each other, so do photographers, creating an ongoing exchange across time, inspiring each other's creativity. Ambiguity is embraced, allowing for multiple interpretations and resisting any fixed meaning.