Gezicht op de Hervormde Kerk te Dongen 1910

This photograph, of the Reformed Church in Dongen, was taken around 1910, and we don't know by whom, which is interesting in itself. There's something about the softness of the image, the way the light sort of bleeds into the forms, that suggests a certain kind of looking, an attention to the atmospheric qualities of a place. The tones are limited, almost monochromatic, but within that, you get a real sense of depth and texture. Look at how the trees in the foreground, with their slender trunks, create a screen that both obscures and reveals the church behind it. It's as if the building is emerging from a mist. And the way the light falls on the brickwork of the tower – you can almost feel the rough surface. It reminds me a bit of some of the early modernist photographers, like Alfred Stieglitz, who were trying to capture a sense of mood and atmosphere in their work. And like so much art, it asks us to slow down, to really look, and to find beauty in the everyday.