Gedeelte van de kasteelruïne te Batenburg 1906

This sepia photograph of the castle ruin at Batenburg was made by an anonymous photographer working for Monumentenzorg. I see a horizontal layering of tones, from the solid mass of the fortress to the rippling water. What was the photographer thinking as they lined up this shot? What if they had moved slightly to the right, or to the left? What if they had waited another hour, for the sun to move across the ruins? The horizontal nature of the ruins seems important, the way the stones line up, and the way the ruin reflects in the water: a doubling, like a dialogue across time. It reminds me of the way Agnes Martin would divide the space of her paintings, trying to hold something, some feeling or experience, in a grid. Maybe this photograph is an attempt to hold time, to capture a moment of ruin and reflection. I wonder if they would appreciate the comparison?