Plantage met gewas 1913 - 1930

This is Theodoor Brouwers’ "Plantage met gewas", a small, silver gelatin stereograph on glass. The image hovers between clarity and abstraction, as if Brouwers was more interested in the process of image-making than in the final product. There’s a ghostly quality to the scene, figures barely visible amidst the foliage. It’s like looking at a memory, faded and indistinct. The surface of the glass itself becomes part of the image, scratches and imperfections adding to the sense of time passing. Look at the way the light catches the edges of the trees, creating a halo effect. It’s almost as if Brouwers is hinting at something beyond the visible world. This reminds me of artists like Gerhard Richter, who embrace chance and accident in their work, allowing the material to speak for itself. Ultimately, this piece invites us to slow down, to look closely, and to find beauty in the unexpected.