Tempel te Peking before 1920

Donald Mennie’s "Temple in Peking" captures a moment frozen in time, using what looks like a photographic eye to still a memory, or place. I'm thinking about how Mennie moves around the space, finding a place that draws him in, a perspective or angle that organizes the composition just so. You can almost feel the light as it dapples across the tiles of the rooftops and the rough stones. There's a real sense of atmosphere here. I can’t help but think about other artists like Charles Sheeler, who are drawn to the geometries of architecture. Mennie's composition draws me in as a painter to the formal elements of what he's capturing. The ways the planes intersect, the use of light and shadow to create depth, and how the eye is led through the space. In the end, it's not just about documenting a place but creating a moment that invites us to linger and reflect.