Gezicht op de Sioule in de Auvergne 1904

This is a photograph, made by Delizy, capturing a view of the Sioule in the Auvergne. It’s a landscape, but the way it’s put together, the tones and textures almost make it feel like an abstract composition. The physical quality of the photograph—its surface, its particular sepia tones—creates a mood, it’s subdued but also romantic. There's a certain uniformity of color; it's not about contrasting hues, but about gradations of light and shadow. If you look closely at the rocks on the left, you can almost see the hand of the artist at work, dodging and burning in the darkroom, coaxing the image into being. It's a reminder that photography, like painting, is a process of layering and construction. It reminds me of the Hudson River School painters, like Church or Bierstadt, but stripped down to its bare essentials. Like them, it speaks to the sublime power of nature, but in a quieter, more intimate way. It's less about spectacle and more about contemplation, like a haiku written with light.