Leerling van Schule Schloss Salem met koeien in een wei c. 1929

This photograph, showing a student from Schule Schloss Salem with cows in a meadow, is by an anonymous artist. The sepia tones give it a timeless quality, like a memory fading at the edges. What strikes me is the composition, how the figures are arranged in this open field. The student’s outstretched hand mirrors the cow’s inquisitive head, creating a delicate balance of gesture and form. The landscape, rendered in soft focus, adds to the dreamlike quality of the image. It makes you wonder about the student’s life, the school, the cows. It reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photographs, which invite us to consider the nature of perception and memory. Like Richter, this anonymous photographer embraces ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own stories to the image.