Bouwwerkzaamheden in Brussel, België 1912

This is 'Bouwwerkzaamheden in Brussel, België’ by Wesseling, a photograph probably made with a large format camera. Look at the scale, the depth of field, the tones of grey, black and white – how they almost cancel each other out in a haze of industry. The photograph is a dense layering of shapes and textures, capturing a construction site bustling with activity; the materials and the machinery of labor. The dark foreground gives way to a complex middle ground of scaffolding, brickwork, and then a soft background featuring buildings shrouded in mist. If you zoom in you can almost hear the sounds of construction: the hammering, the grinding, the shouts of workers. The overall effect is one of constant motion and progress, like an early modernist painting by Fernand Léger. But it also anticipates the dystopian industrial landscapes we know today. Either way, it is a fascinating window into a past of hard labour and human energy.