Geschilderd plafond in Noordeinde 140 te Den Haag 1912

This sepia toned photograph captures a painted ceiling at Noordeinde 140 in The Hague. I can only imagine what it must have been like to paint this ceiling. The artist must have been an acrobat, suspended in the air, wrestling with gravity and perspective all at once. The pale angels swirl in an endless ballet of brushstrokes. I'm drawn to the way the figures dissolve into the architecture. They become a part of the very fabric of the building, as if the walls themselves have sprouted wings. Painting on ceilings, like this one, reminds us that art isn't just something we look at, but it's something we inhabit. It's a reminder of the endless possibilities that exist when we dare to look up. And isn’t that what painting is all about, really? A way of seeing, a way of thinking, and a way of making the world a little more magical.