Gezicht op het Secessionsgebouw in Wenen, Oostenrijk 1898 - 1920

This anonymous photograph captures the Secessionsgebouw in Vienna. It’s a fascinating document of a building, but also a record of a particular way of seeing, composed of light and shadow, time and place. The surface, muted and sepia-toned, gives the whole image a feeling of softness, almost like a dream. The horse and driver on the right-hand side introduce a human element to the photograph. If you look closely at the dome, you can see the intricate pattern of leaves or branches, creating a kind of organic crown for the building. This detail is interesting because it creates a dialogue between natural and architectural forms. The inscription on the building acts as a sort of statement, an ambition, carved into the very structure. Anonymous, as in anyone, as in all of us, the viewers. We are all invited to look, to see, and to make up our own minds about this place and time. Maybe this photograph could be seen in conversation with the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, who also documented architectural structures, but with a different kind of cool detachment. What do you think?