Modellenzaal van de Prinses Juliana School 1933

This small black and white photograph is of the Modellenzaal van de Prinses Juliana School, by an anonymous artist. Look at the way the artist has framed the composition, cropping the edges, creating a sense of intimacy and immediacy, and like a snapshot of a memory. I wonder what they might have been thinking when they snapped this picture? Were they just capturing a scene, or trying to say something about education or about memory? The light and shadow play across the lawn and buildings, creating interesting contrasts and depths. It makes me think about how we use tonal variation to create form and space in painting, or how the simple arrangement of shapes can evoke a place. Perhaps the artist was exploring similar ideas with the limited tones they had. The buildings and the neatly arranged pupils standing in the distance have a sense of presence in the photograph and make me think about how we use shape, light and shade to evoke feelings.