Interieur van de Hervormde Kerk te Vlissingen na de brand in 1911 1911

This anonymous photograph captures the Interieur van de Hervormde Kerk te Vlissingen, after the fire in 1911. The sepia tone gives it a ghostly feeling, like a memory fading at the edges. The photographer frames the scene so it becomes an arrangement of form, not just a record of destruction. I think about the light filtering through what’s left of the roof, illuminating the rough textures of the charred stone. Those arches, repeated like a somber echo, remind me of brushstrokes, each one unique, bearing the weight of history. It makes me wonder about the impulse to document this ruin. It's like the photographer is searching for something in the wreckage, maybe a sense of hope or resilience. The photograph reminds me of some of Gerhard Richter's grey paintings – a similar subdued palette and focus on texture, transforming reality into something more abstract and contemplative. Art is like that, always in conversation across time, isn't it?