Interieur van Stadhouderskade 56, het woonhuis van Andries Bonger in Amsterdam, met schilderijen van Odilon Redon aan de muur 1904

W.J.G. van Meurs made this photograph of Andries Bonger's home on Stadhouderskade in Amsterdam with what looks like a large format camera. The soft focus and sepia tone lends a dreamlike quality to the scene. It's an intimate interior, filled with art and personal touches. The walls are adorned with paintings by Odilon Redon, whose symbolist aesthetic chimes with the overall mood. Look at the way the light filters through the lace curtains and reflects off the mirror above the fireplace. It creates a sense of depth and atmosphere, drawing you into the space. There's a stillness to the image, a sense of quiet contemplation. The photograph acts like a portrait of Bonger himself. I think Van Meurs was clearly influenced by Pictorialism, a late 19th and early 20th century movement in photography which took inspiration from painting, aiming to create images that were more artistic and expressive than purely documentary. Like painting, photography embraces ambiguity, a place for openess, a space to just be.