Begraafplaats met graf van G.J. Dammers 1917 - 1919

This photograph of a cemetery with the grave of G.J. Dammers, was made by an anonymous artist, sometime in the past. What strikes me is the density of the palms, and the stark geometry of the graves. It's a somber scene, but also a kind of puzzle. The heavy stillness of the stone markers contrasts with the organic riot of the foliage. The artist has arranged the composition so that the eye is led back and forth between these elements. The low-contrast monochrome palette gives the image a feeling of timelessness, as if it could have been taken at any point in the last century. There's a hat lying on the ground at the base of the tree. It feels as if someone was present, someone who has now gone. This photo puts me in mind of Eugène Atget, whose photographs of Paris capture a similar sense of urban melancholy. Is it a document of a place, or a meditation on loss? Maybe it's both.