Gezicht op een waterpartij in de Scheveningse Bosjes before 1915

This image shows a body of water in the Scheveningse Bosjes and was made with some kind of photographic process. The artist is unknown. It’s interesting how the tones flatten out and create an all-over texture. Everything is so close in value. You get lost in the details, which all seem equally important. It’s like a field of visual information, where nothing really pops out. I keep coming back to the way the light hits the water. It’s not just a reflection; it's this shimmering, almost vibrating patch of white. It’s the lightest part of the image, so it naturally draws your eye. And it almost cancels out the form of the water, turning it into pure, abstract light. It feels like a release, a moment of pure visual sensation. It reminds me a little of those Impressionist paintings where they were trying to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Like Monet’s water lilies, where the subject is almost secondary to the experience of seeing. Except this isn’t paint, it's light and chemistry, and a bit of mystery thrown in.