Landschap met een zitbank before 1902

This black and white photograph by Ph. et E. Link is from a book about photography. Look how the trees anchor the scene, their dark, gnarled forms reaching across the water. Imagine the photographer setting up their camera, carefully composing the shot. I wonder what it was like to stand there, capturing this quiet moment? The soft light, the stillness of the water…it’s almost melancholic. It reminds me of other landscape paintings, maybe something by Corot or even a Whistler nocturne. There's something very human here, a place where one might find some peace. Notice the bench. Artists, whether photographers or painters, are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other’s ideas across time. And ultimately, isn’t all art about finding ways to express what it feels like to be alive, to find a place to sit and contemplate.