Interieur van een katholieke kerk, zicht op het koor c. 1900 - 1940

This gelatin silver print of a Catholic church choir was made by Richard Tepe sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Imagine Tepe setting up his camera, carefully adjusting the focus to capture the serene stillness of the church interior. There’s a beautiful symmetry here: the rows of pews leading towards the altar, the vaulted ceiling reaching upwards. I wonder what Tepe was thinking about as he framed this shot. Was he drawn to the geometry of the space? Or perhaps he was capturing the spiritual essence of the church, those quiet moments of contemplation. The sepia tones give the photograph a timeless quality, reminding us of the enduring power of faith. This image speaks to the idea of photography as a means of preserving not just a physical space but also a sense of history, memory, and human connection to the divine. Like a painter, Tepe composes with light and shadow, inviting us to reflect on the sacred within the everyday.