Boswachter en assistent met een hond die een konijn apporteert 1900 - 1930

This photograph of a huntsman, his assistant, and a dog retrieving a rabbit was taken by Richard Tepe sometime between 1864 and 1952. It's so interesting to think about how this image came to be. Maybe Tepe meticulously planned the scene, or perhaps he captured a fleeting moment of synchronicity. I imagine him carefully choosing the angle, the light, the composition, trying to capture the essence of that hunt. The photograph is, of course, a document, but also more than that. Look how Tepe makes the forest behind them seem so mysterious and deep. It's not a landscape, but an emotional landscape! The dog looks so happy, and the men are just doing their job, but all together there is something very painterly about this image. It reminds me of Gustave Courbet. I bet Tepe was looking at paintings when he made this!