Interieur van de Nieuwezijds Kapel, Amsterdam, tijdens de sloop in 1908 1908

This photo, taken in 1908 by Albert Adriaansz, captures the Nieuwezijds Chapel in Amsterdam mid-demolition, probably with a large format camera which would have involved standing under a dark cloth to see the image projected on the glass screen. I wonder how long it took to expose this image in the low light? You can almost feel the cool, cavernous emptiness of the space. I imagine Adriaansz positioning his camera amidst the rubble, trying to find the right angle to capture both the grandeur of the architecture and the melancholy of its impending doom. The play of light through the tall windows is stark, creating a ghostly effect that emphasizes the chapel's desolation. It reminds me of other painters who captured architectural subjects like Piranesi, but this time it's real, not imagined. Adriaansz wasn't just recording a scene; he was preserving a moment of transition, of loss and change. Thinking about it makes you feel like the best art is about marking time, and artists are always finding ways to explore and express that.