Zittend op de stenen leeuwen, de beelden voor landhuis De Paauw in Wassenaar 1912

This photograph, made by Geldolph Adriaan Kessler, captures a moment in time at Landhuis De Paauw in Wassenaar. It looks like it may have been quite a day to be there. I imagine the artist outside with all his equipment, probably working very slowly, trying to get his subjects to keep still. I wonder if he also had to hold very still. I am imagining a kind of pre-photoshop world of posing, stillness, and quiet labour. You can see the figures are all posing on and around the stone lions, which really have a monumental energy. Kessler has framed them against the grand house behind them. Together the group make a beautiful, balanced composition. The symmetry of the lions and house is very pleasing and the monochrome palette gives the whole image a wonderful timelessness. Photographs like this remind us that all art making is embodied, collaborative, and relational. It’s interesting to think about how we build on the ideas of those who came before us.