Ruïnes bij de Gedempte Vest en de Schiedamsedijk te Rotterdam c. 1940 - 1945

J. Nolte made this photograph of the Ruïnes bij de Gedempte Vest en de Schiedamsedijk te Rotterdam, but we don't know exactly when. The grayness of the palette here is striking, creating a world of tonal variation, with very little in the way of bright highlights or deep shadows. It’s as if the photographer has used light as a kind of material, spreading it evenly over the scene to reveal the textures of the ruined landscape, where we can see the material qualities of the destroyed architecture. There is a kind of obscuring effect to the grayness that unifies the image, and softens the details of destruction. This reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s blurred paintings of difficult subjects, such as his series of paintings made after photographs of the Baader-Meinhof group, which similarly use a subdued palette to encourage contemplation. This feels like an attempt to comprehend something devastating.