Gezelschap op rotsformaties in Huelgoat 1901

This photograph, of a 'Gezelschap op rotsformaties in Huelgoat', by Delizy, shows figures perched on rocks. The sepia tone gives the image a hazy, dreamlike quality, as if the scene is unfolding in a memory. The textures of the rocks and foliage are almost palpable, hinting at the physical act of being in this place. The light catches the forms just so, highlighting the smoothness of the rock faces against the dense foliage behind. This contrast of textures is delicious. It reminds me of a painter who carefully balances hard and soft forms to create visual rhythm. Look at the way the figures are situated on the rocks – they seem both grounded and strangely ethereal. Like they are part of the landscape itself. This work feels like a conversation with Caspar David Friedrich, both in the sense of Romanticism, and in the way that Friedrich found a way of making the paint itself speak. Ultimately, this work makes you ask more questions than it answers. Which is, of course, the point.