Gezicht op een paviljoen, mogelijk een militair wachthuis, in vermoedelijk Zeeland c. 1885 - 1900

Carl Wilhelm Bauer captured this photograph of a pavilion, possibly a military guardhouse, in Zeeland. Bauer’s personal experiences shaped the artistic and commercial aspects of his photography. As a photographer during a time of rapid colonial expansion, his work was often tied to the representation and documentation of people and places within the Dutch sphere of influence. This image gives us a glimpse into the world of military architecture, and how power structures manifested physically in the landscape. The building’s design communicates a sense of authority and control, an assertion of dominance. However, there are other stories hinted at here – the people in the image, for instance, and the relationship between the built environment and the natural world. What were their roles? What was their place in this society? Through Bauer’s lens, we are invited to consider not only the physical structures that define a place, but also the human experiences and interactions that give it meaning.