Gezicht op de groenteveiling in Zwijndrecht c. 1903 - 1910

This anonymous, undated photograph shows a crowd of people milling around produce stands in Zwijndrecht. It’s an atmospheric shot, and it makes me think about the relationship between art and life, because what is art, anyway, if not life, made visible? The composition's pretty straightforward; a receding plane made up of a crowd of people looking at vegetables. It’s the tonal range, from light to dark, and the way the light flickers off the baskets, that grabs my attention. I love the details, like the woven texture of the baskets. The way the crowd of people blurs into a dark mass, it's so painterly. It reminds me a bit of the gritty realism of Gustave Courbet, except with a softer touch. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that beauty and intrigue can be found anywhere, even in the mundane act of buying and selling vegetables.