Noordzijde van de Oude Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Visitatiekerk te Budel 1902

This photograph of the north side of the Oude Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Visitatiekerk in Budel was made by an anonymous photographer from Monumentenzorg. It’s all in shades of brown, and what I love is how the light seems to filter through everything, softening the edges of the brickwork. The photograph has a beautiful, almost dreamlike quality because of how the branches in the top corner are out of focus. The artist has really embraced the physical nature of their materials. The sepia tones have this warm, nostalgic feel, but what really makes the image for me is how it captures a moment in time. Look at the diagonal crack running across the surface. It reminds us of the fragility of both the building and the photograph itself. It puts me in mind of the work of Eugène Atget, who documented old buildings in Paris at the turn of the century. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation with what came before. What is not to love?