Emma, koningin-regentes der Nederlanden, op haar morgenrit in een rijtuig 1925 - 1934

This is a little picture, most likely made as a photographic print, of Emma, Queen Regent of the Netherlands, on her morning ride. It’s an anonymous work, so we don’t have the artist to credit, but that kind of adds to the mystery of it, doesn't it? I am interested in the way the photograph deals with tone, how it builds up these lovely shades of grey to create shapes and forms. The overall palette is monochromatic, but, within that, we get all this lovely tonal variation in the sky and on the road surface. But it’s also about the horses. Look at their legs. See how they move together, front and back. To me, it's about the materiality of the photograph, the way it presents light as a solid, material substance. Like a painting, the picture makes you think about time, about a specific historical moment and place. Like a memory of something you never knew.