Gezicht op de bibliotheek van het Kasteel van Gaasbeek, België before 1898

This monochrome photograph captures the library of Gaasbeek Castle in Belgium, and was taken by G. Choppinet. At first glance, we see a room of quiet opulence, replete with a large table, chandelier, and a roaring fireplace under a portrait. But let's consider who might have inhabited this space. Castles like Gaasbeek were not merely homes, but potent symbols of power and privilege. Built and rebuilt over centuries, it represents shifting aristocratic lineages and their attendant social hierarchies. The library itself, filled with books, speaks to a legacy of knowledge, power, and access, historically reserved for a select few. While the image itself seems still, one can’t help but wonder about the figures who would have occupied it. What was the nature of their intellectual pursuits, and to what extent were they aware of the social inequalities that afforded them such a space? The photograph serves as a poignant reminder of the complex ways in which wealth, knowledge, and power have been historically intertwined.