Gezicht op het hoekhuis van de Korte Vijverberg en de Doelenstraat te Den Haag before 1909

This photo shows a street corner in The Hague, captured by an anonymous photographer, and what strikes me is how the geometry of buildings and fences create a maze of lines and angles. I imagine the photographer, maybe they worked for the local authority, setting up their camera on a cloudy day, trying to capture the essence of the architecture without the distraction of people. The focus on the buildings reminds me of a painting, where the artist carefully constructs a composition using shapes and lines to guide the viewer's eye. The wrought iron fence creates a barrier, adding another layer to the visual puzzle. It feels like a conversation between the photographer, the subject, and us, the viewers, as we try to piece together the story of this place and time. What does it mean to preserve a building? What can we learn from the spaces we inhabit?