Markt in Caïro c. 1900 - 1910

This photograph of a market in Cairo was captured by Mr. L. de Bruyn; it’s not dated, but it is an intimate snapshot of a moment frozen in time. The tones are muted, mostly monochrome, and the image has aged, acquiring a warmth that wasn’t originally there. The photograph is filled with people, a bustling crowd where faces are indistinct, and textures are soft. It feels like the photographer was trying to capture not just the scene but also the atmosphere, the mood of the place. The light is gentle, and the focus is soft. This makes me think of the way Gerhard Richter smears paint to turn a representation into an evocation. The entire scene is kind of washed with the same hazy light. Look how the buildings in the background seem to blur into the sky, creating a shallow depth of field. It gives the photograph a dreamlike quality. The soft focus and the aged tones remind me a little of the Pictorialist movement, where the aim was to elevate photography to the status of art through painterly effects. It’s a beautiful, quiet piece, full of understated elegance.