Koeien grazen op de oever en staan in een rivier before 1901

This photogravure of cows grazing by Walter Bartels is like a hazy memory, a scene softened by time and sepia tones. Imagine Bartels in his darkroom, coaxing this image out of light and chemicals, a process of unveiling rather than creation. He probably watched it emerge slowly in the developing tray like a landscape forming in the mist. The tones are muted. It's almost as if Bartels is inviting us to feel the cool damp air and hear the gentle sounds of the grazing cows. I think the appeal of this work is that the artist is not just showing us a scene, but sharing a way of seeing and feeling the world. This piece sits within a rich tradition of landscape art, but I think it also reminds me of the pictorialist photography of the time. Artists are always building on each other's work. The exchange of ideas is a long conversation about how we perceive, interpret, and represent the world around us.