Toren van de Cunerakerk te Rhenen 1909

This is a vintage photograph of the Toren van de Cunerakerk te Rhenen, made at some unknown time, by an anonymous photographer. The sepia tones create a sense of distance, like looking into the past, but there’s also something immediate in the way the light catches the stone. You know, in art school, we were always taught to avoid brown. It was considered somehow…dull. But here, the monochrome palette isn’t a limitation, it’s a lens. The slight variations in tone – the way the light defines the contours of the tower, or the subtle gradations in the sky – almost give the image a painterly quality. Look closely at the top of the tower, it dissolves into the sky. This reminds me of some of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photographs. There’s something very beautiful about the way the sharp architectural details merge into a haze. Maybe this photographer knew something we’re still trying to learn today. It’s a reminder that art is always an ongoing conversation.