Gezicht op Kasteel Heeswijk 1892

This monochrome photograph, titled "Gezicht op Kasteel Heeswijk," was created by an anonymous photographer from Monumentenzorg. The image captures Heeswijk Castle, a site laden with centuries of aristocratic history and power. Consider the gaze of the photographer, positioned to document and preserve this monument. How does the seemingly neutral act of photographing architecture become an act of preserving social structures? The architecture itself tells tales of those who commissioned it, as well as those who built it. It evokes questions about class, labor, and the narratives we choose to immortalize through preservation. The somber tones may evoke a sense of nostalgia or even mourning for a bygone era. What does it mean to look back at these symbols of authority through the lens of today's social awareness?