Kazerne van Boma before 1892

This is a page from an anonymous illustrated book displaying an image of the Kazerne van Boma in the Congo. The photograph captures a scene composed of simply constructed buildings beneath a vast sky and distant landscape, rendered in monochrome. The very sparseness of the visual elements – the stark geometry of the buildings and the unadorned horizon – evokes a sense of colonial outpost. This image’s meaning is not just in what it shows but how it is constructed as a visual sign. Its formal simplicity speaks to the bare facts of colonial presence, stripped of any romanticism or complexity. The photograph and accompanying cartography can be interpreted through semiotics. The illustration is structured to present a simplified view of the Congo divided into "Districts et Stations," suggesting a systematic organization of the territory for administrative and perhaps exploitative purposes. The book and the image should be regarded as a cultural artifact that does not merely represent a place but actively participates in shaping perceptions and power structures. The aesthetic choices, from composition to layout, underline its role in constructing and reinforcing colonial narratives.