Knotberk in een weiland 1900 - 1930

Richard Tepe made this gelatin silver print of a tree in a field sometime between 1876 and 1952. It’s a serene scene and reminds me of the work of other landscape painters like the Impressionists. I can imagine Tepe thinking about how to compose the picture as he peers through the camera's viewfinder. The tree has a sturdy trunk and a big, bushy top. It looks like it’s in the middle of a field, surrounded by grass. You know, maybe he thought about the texture of the bark, or the way the leaves catch the light? The tones are soft and muted, kinda dreamy, and give the photo a timeless quality. For me, looking at “Knotberk in een weiland” is like a conversation with Tepe across time. His image is about observing the beauty of the natural world but also about how we see and interpret it. It's like he's passing on the practice of looking.