Mannen rond een kampvur op de Parnassus before 1910

This black and white photograph, ‘Mannen rond een kampvur op de Parnassus’ was made by Frédéric Boissonnas. There's a tonal unity in the dark palette, which I see as Boissonnas surrendering to the landscape, almost embracing a kind of creative risk-taking. The textural depth here is remarkable. Look at how the light struggles to define the figures around the fire, as if they're emerging from the earth itself. The mountain in the background looms, a silent witness to the small drama unfolding below. Notice the smoke rising, blurring the line between the physical and the ethereal. It reminds me of some of Caspar David Friedrich's landscapes. Ultimately, what strikes me about this piece is its ambiguity. It’s more about feeling and atmosphere than a clear narrative, and that’s what makes it so compelling. Art is such a conversation, isn’t it?