De eerste vliegtocht van Clément van Maasdijk bij Heerenveen Possibly 1910 - 1931

This sepia photograph by E. ten Cate captures Clément van Maasdijk’s first flight at Heerenveen. It's a scene muted in tone, where the absence of vivid color directs our attention to the details of form and texture. Look closely, and you can see the blurred figures watching, some in light coloured coats, and the fragile looking flying contraption itself. The whole scene, printed twice to create a stereo image, has a dreamlike quality. The physicality of the medium – the texture of the card, the faded tones – these elements shape our emotional experience, conveying both the wonder of this first flight, and also its remove from our present. The light in the image almost seems to emit from the surface, drawing us into a past moment where the future of flight was just beginning. This image reminds me of the early photography of people like Alfred Stieglitz, who experimented with soft focus and atmospheric effects to evoke emotion. It’s a reminder that art, no matter the medium, is always in conversation with what came before.