Gezicht op de Ooijpolder, gezien vanaf de Belvédère te Nijmegen 1885 - 1900

Here is the original image: Wilhelm Ivens captured this view of the Ooijpolder from the Belvédère in Nijmegen using photography. The sepia tones lend a dreamlike quality, muting the contrasts and softening the landscape's features. Ivens masterfully uses composition to guide our eyes, arranging the scene into distinct horizontal layers: the foreground with water and boats, the middle ground featuring buildings nestled among trees, and the expansive Ooijpolder stretching to the horizon. The winding road acts as a visual pathway, leading us deeper into the scene, while the elevated vantage point flattens the perspective, compressing space and emphasizing the two-dimensionality of the photograph. This flattening effect challenges traditional landscape conventions, inviting us to consider the photograph not merely as a representation of space but as a constructed image, a play of tones and textures. Ivens' approach anticipates later modernist experiments, disrupting our expectations and prompting a more critical engagement with the act of seeing.