Militairen bij een veldhospitaal aan het front in de Dolomieten, vermoedelijk Italianen 1916

This photograph of what are probably Italian soldiers at a field hospital in the Dolomites, was taken by Henri de Rothschild. The limited tonal range immediately speaks to the starkness of the scene. The artist has made a world of subtle variation with the monochrome palette. The way the snow reflects the light, and casts shadows of differing strength, brings a feeling of vastness to the landscape. It’s a bit like a Gerhard Richter painting in that sense. The eye is drawn to the strong diagonal lines of the wooden structures, but also to the more diffuse shapes of the soldiers grouped outside, whose arrangement makes you wonder what they’re waiting for. The muted treatment gives the photograph a quality of timelessness and also fragility, like it could fade away completely. It reminds us of the transience of life, something no doubt felt very acutely in this place.