Fotoreproductie van Dorpsfeest te Warmond door Jan Steen before 1883

This photograph, taken by Alexandre around the turn of the 20th century, captures Jan Steen's painting, "Village Festival at Warmond." The monochromatic sepia tones and compressed dimensions flatten the boisterous scene into a dense, almost abstract composition. Alexandre's photographic lens transforms Steen's lively chaos into a study of tonal gradations and textural contrasts. The original painting's depth is collapsed, emphasizing the surface quality of the photograph itself. What we are left with is a structured arrangement of light and shadow. By translating paint into a photographic image, Alexandre subtly destabilizes the original's narrative. The photograph calls attention to its own medium, prompting a reevaluation of the way we perceive both photography and painting. Ultimately, this image challenges our understanding of the relationship between representation and reality.