Kloostergang in het klooster van Agios Stefanos in de Meteora before 1910

Frédéric Boissonnas made this photograph of the monastery of Agios Stefanos, perhaps using an early photographic process that gives the image a soft, almost dreamlike quality. The muted palette and the way the light seems to diffuse across the scene reminds me of early photographic processes, where the image emerges slowly, like a memory forming. Look at the way the arches recede into the distance, each one slightly softer than the last, as if fading into the past. The figures are almost ghostly, adding to the sense of timelessness and contemplation. The photograph has a stillness, but also a sense of movement, as our eye is led through the space. It reminds me a bit of the paintings of Giorgio Morandi, who also used a limited palette and simple compositions to create a sense of quiet contemplation. Both artists invite us to slow down and see the world in a new way, finding beauty in the everyday and the ordinary. There’s no one right answer, just a space for our own thoughts and feelings to emerge.