Mensen op een brug, met op de voorgrond bloeiende blauweregen, in Kameido, Tokyo, Japan before 1903

This hand-colored albumen print by Kusakabe Kimbei shows people on a bridge with wisteria in Kameido, Tokyo. I can imagine Kimbei carefully applying the colors, trying to capture the dreamy atmosphere. The wisteria vines are like soft, cascading brushstrokes—they remind me of Helen Frankenthaler’s soak-stain paintings. But look, it’s not just about pretty colors. It's as if Kimbei is exploring how we perceive and remember a place. What does it mean to capture a fleeting moment? Is it even possible? There’s a sense of distance that makes you want to reach out and touch it. You could imagine a dialogue between Kimbei and someone like Gerhard Richter. Kimbei's hand-coloring adds a layer of artifice but also intimacy, echoing Richter's blurred photographs turned paintings. These artists are all in conversation across time and place, exploring how we see, remember, and make sense of the world through images.