Gebouw Koepel Wester Meerwijk bij Nijmegen c. 1905 - 1907

Editor: Here we have Folkert Idzes de Jong’s photograph, "Gebouw Koepel Wester Meerwijk bij Nijmegen," created sometime between 1905 and 1907. It’s a sepia-toned print of a building almost entirely obscured by trees. I'm initially struck by how soft and dreamy it feels. What grabs you when you look at this? Curator: Oh, absolutely dreamy. It whispers secrets, doesn't it? For me, it's the way de Jong embraces pictorialism, this movement where photography really wanted to be taken seriously as art. Look how he manipulates the image. It's not just snapping a picture; it's about creating a mood, an impression. Do you get a sense of yearning, perhaps a nostalgic sigh for a past that maybe never even existed? Editor: Definitely, there is an unreal quality to it, but where do you see the manipulation exactly? Curator: It’s subtle, but you can see it in the soft focus, the way the edges kind of fade away, almost like a painting. The light feels filtered, like a memory. It’s less about perfect representation and more about… feeling. Does the architecture remind you of anything? Like, maybe a fairytale castle hidden in the woods? Editor: You’re right, it does! It's as if he wanted to evoke a story, not just document a building. What do you think he was trying to say with this dreamlike quality? Curator: Perhaps he's reminding us that beauty exists in the imperfect, the fleeting, the half-seen. That a photograph doesn't need to be a mirror; it can be a window into the soul, you know? He might be inviting us to find the magic in the mundane. It's lovely, isn’t it? Editor: It really is. I hadn't considered how intentional that "dreamy" quality was. Now I see it as a deliberate artistic choice, not just an old photo. Thanks for pointing that out!