Zuidzijde van de Oude Kerk te Naaldwijk 1910

This photo, Zuidzijde van de Oude Kerk te Naaldwijk, was created by an anonymous photographer, or maybe a member of Monumentenzorg, and captures an old church in simple tones. It’s funny, isn’t it, how photographs can feel like paintings, and paintings can look like photographs? What I’m struck by here is the surface quality, even in this reproduction. See how the bricks on the tower have this soft, granular texture? It’s like the photographer was trying to find the essence of the stone. The way the light falls suggests that the photographer was interested in the feeling of depth. Take a look at the spire on top. It’s a little thing, but I’m drawn to it. It's like a delicate flourish, a counterpoint to the hulking mass of the building. This photo reminds me a bit of Bernd and Hilla Becher, who photographed industrial buildings. This anonymous artist seems to have a similar sensibility, a way of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, like a quiet conversation across time. I think of art as an endless exchange of ideas.