Gezicht op een begraafplaats op Spionkop in Natal 1901

This photograph by Underwood & Underwood captures a view of a graveyard on Spion Kop in Natal. You can see the stark contrast between the rough terrain of the landscape and the solemnity of the burial site. I imagine the photographer, or photographers, trudging through the land to find the right perspective, the light hitting the crosses just so. The image is quite dark in color. I wonder what they wanted to convey in this photograph. Is it about loss, resilience, or the passage of time? It reminds me of landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich, whose paintings always have a somber quality. In his paintings, the dark colours communicate a sense of mystery and a sense of the sublime, and the photograph here also has a connection to something greater than ourselves. It evokes a sense of contemplation and reflection. It seems like a reminder of the transient nature of life, and the importance of bearing witness to it.