Oude Hof in Bergen 1896 - 1944

This is 'Oude Hof in Bergen' by Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé, printed on paper. I love the precision of the lines and the atmospheric depth, particularly the reflections in the water! You can almost feel the cool stillness of the scene. I imagine Dehé carefully etching each line, responding to the scene before him, the light playing on the water, the solid structure of the bridge and the house. The reflections in the water are great, they’re not perfect, but they hint at a deeper reality, an altered, fluid version of the world above. It’s a dance between what's real and what's perceived. The way Dehé contrasts the starkness of the architectural elements with the organic forms of the trees reminds me of some of the great landscape painters. In that sense, Dehé is part of a long conversation about how we see and represent the world around us. It's a constant back-and-forth, a continuous exploration, and that's what makes it so compelling!