Gezicht op de Taj Mahal in Agra before 1871

Samuel Bourne captured this photograph of the Taj Mahal in Agra. Immediately striking is the dome, a symbol of heaven and transcendence, common across various cultures from the Roman Pantheon to Christian churches. Note how the Taj Mahal is framed by the tall, slender cypress trees, which have long been associated with mourning and eternity. These trees, like silent sentinels, guard the mausoleum. One cannot ignore how the symmetry and the reflecting pool induce a sense of serenity, yet also of profound loss, mirroring the eternal grief that prompted its creation. Consider the arches, a recurring motif found in Roman architecture and later adopted in Islamic designs. These arches, framing emptiness, remind us of thresholds – transitions between worlds, between life and death. It is through these visual echoes that we perceive how deeply rooted are our emotions. The Taj Mahal, in Bourne's photograph, is not merely a monument but a vessel carrying centuries of cultural memory.