Bosweg met reizigers nabij Hakone, Japan 1900 - 1907

This stereo card, ‘Bosweg met reizigers nabij Hakone, Japan’, was made by T. Enami, and is a window into another time, another world. There’s a remarkable stillness to this scene despite the implied movement, which reminds me of the quiet contemplation you find in Agnes Martin's grids. The texture is smooth, almost like vellum, with soft gradations of tone that create a sense of depth, pulling you into the scene. The way the light filters through the trees, dappling the path in patches of shadow and light, evokes a sense of being present, as if you could step right into the image. Focusing on a single figure walking away from us, there’s a vulnerability, a sense of solitary journeying that resonates deeply. The composition and tonal range here make me think of Atget, and the way he captured Paris in the early twentieth century. Like his work, Enami's image is a record of a place and a time, but also something more elusive.