Stadsgezicht met waterweg en boten before 1901

John Cimon Warburg made this photographic print of a cityscape with a waterway and boats. It’s hard to say exactly when it was made, but I’m thinking sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. There's something about the slightly blurred image, with a steamboat puffing out smoke, that makes me think about process. I wonder what it was like for Warburg to capture this moment in time. Was it a quick snap, or did he spend hours setting up the shot? The cool and muted tones evoke a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. I imagine he was trying to freeze a fleeting moment. Like a painter, Warburg must have been searching for the right composition. This reminds me that artists across all mediums are in constant conversation with each other. They're all trying to make sense of the world and capture its beauty in their own way.