Vuurtoren en de ruïne van de abdij van Pointe Saint-Mathieu 1901

This small photograph at the Rijksmuseum by Delizy shows a lighthouse and the ruins of an abbey, and it’s all rendered in a very limited palette of browns and beiges. It reminds me of some of those early photographic processes, where the image seems to emerge slowly, like a memory coming into focus. There’s something about the texture of the print that really gets me; it feels almost like a painting, with the way the light catches on the surface. The lack of color actually adds to the emotional impact, emphasizing the starkness of the landscape and the contrast between the solid lighthouse and the crumbling abbey. My eye is drawn to the cross in the foreground. It’s kind of unassuming, but it anchors the whole composition, connecting the earth to the sky and the past to the present. It’s tempting to compare Delizy to someone like Eugène Atget, who also documented the changing face of his surroundings. Ultimately, art is about embracing ambiguity, inviting viewers to bring their own experiences and interpretations to the table.