Patio de los Leones met fontein in het Alhambra in Granada 1900 - 1930

This is a photograph of the Patio de los Leones with a fountain in the Alhambra in Granada, by Enrique Linares. It’s hard to know exactly when it was made, but looking at the sepia tones and the way the light falls, you know it’s a different process from our digital age. It's all about tone and texture. This isn't about a full blast of color. Instead, Linares guides us through the image, making us linger in the light and shadow. If you look closely at the columns, you can almost feel the cool stone. Look at the way the light bleeds through those arches. They're almost hazy, like a dream you can’t quite grasp. That softness, that lack of hard edges, it invites you in to imagine the space and the story of this place. It reminds me of some of the architectural studies by Frederick Evans. He had a similar ability to use light and tone to evoke a sense of timelessness. It's this interplay, this conversation across time and mediums, that makes art so endlessly fascinating.