Gezicht op een roeiboot, aangemeerd bij een huis before 1903

This little photograph of a rowboat moored by a house by Percy Lewis is so captivating, isn't it? It feels like a whisper from another time. The first thing that grabs me is its dreamy, almost monochrome palette. It's as if the whole scene has been dipped in a vat of diluted ink. The textures, though subtle, play a huge role here. Look at the way the light catches the water's surface, creating a shimmering dance. It's a testament to the power of simplicity, isn't it? Then, there's the mark-making, or lack thereof. It's hard to detect any obvious intervention, which somehow enhances the dreamlike quality. I think of someone like Gerhard Richter who worked extensively with photography, pushing it towards abstraction. And like Richter, Lewis shows that art isn't about definitive statements, but about opening up spaces for multiple interpretations.