Basreliëf met Krishnayana aan de oostzijde van Candi Panataran Possibly 1867

This albumen print depicts the bas-relief of Krishnayana on the east side of Candi Panataran and was created by Isidore Kinsbergen. Kinsbergen, a Dutch-Jewish printmaker, lithographer, and photographer, made it his mission to document the cultural artifacts of Java during the Dutch colonial era. Look closely at the bas-relief itself. It presents a narrative, a sequence of moments frozen in stone. Each figure, each gesture, tells a part of the story of Krishnayana, a Javanese poem based on Krishna's life. Kinsbergen doesn't just document; he interprets, framing the temple, the bas-relief, and the stories they contain, within a colonial gaze. Consider the layers of representation: the original carvings, imbued with cultural and spiritual significance, captured by a European photographer, and then viewed by us, today. This photograph invites us to reflect on the complex interplay of culture, representation, and history. It offers a glimpse into the past, and prompts us to think about how we understand and interpret the stories of others.