Author Archives: c. n. opitz
Advent Calendar – Door 24: A doorway to peace
Aldo Capitini Fondazione Centro Studi Aldo Capitini (CC0) Another chance discovery I made while browsing the Europeana Collections: When I first saw this photo, I immediately felt I recognized that doorway, though I couldn’t quite place it. But just looking … Continue reading
Advent Calendar – Door 22: Two Garden Gates
Joseph Maria Olbrich, Design for a Garden Gate, 1900/01 Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (CC BY-NC-SA) December 22 marks the birthday of Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867-1908), one of the more interesting but perhaps lesser-known Art Nouveau architects of Vienna. After … Continue reading
Advent Calendar – Door 21: The Churchyard Gate in Bunge
Bertil Berthelson, The Churchyard Gate in Bunge, 1941 Swedish National Heritage Board (Public Domain) When I first saw this photo, its almost poetic simplicity immediately appealed to me: There’s an empty lawn, a rough stone wall cutting across it, a … Continue reading
Advent Calendar – Door 20: The Portal Reial in Poblet
The Portal Reial, Monestir de Poblet via Wikimedia Commons, by PMRMaeyaert (CC BY-SA) If Monday’s post was about photography’s artistic possibilities, today’s is all about its documentary capibilities. What you see in the above (and in the following) pictures may … Continue reading
Advent Calendar – Door 19: The entrance of Rosslyn Chapel
Rosslyn Chapel, litograph by T. Picken after D. Roberts from: J. P. Lawson, Scotland Delineated in a Series of Views by Clarkson Stanfield, London 1847-1854; Corson Collection, University of Edinburgh (CC BY) This is the title page of Scotland Delineated, … Continue reading
Advent Calendar – Door 18: Two Church Doors
Heinrich Kühn, Church Entrance, c. 1910 Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (CC0) In the early days of photography, the new medium’s relationship to art, especially painting, was a matter of intense debate. Could photos, i.e. mechanically/chemically produced “copies” of … Continue reading