Rokin gezien richting Dam c. 1860 - 1900

Andries Jager captured this image of the Rokin towards Dam Square in Amsterdam with photography. Water, in its fluid and reflective nature, has always been a potent symbol. In ancient mythologies, water represents the source of life, the subconscious, and the ever-changing nature of existence. In this photograph, the canal is a mirror, reflecting the urban landscape, yet also obscuring its depths. Think of the ancient Greeks, who saw rivers as gods, or the Egyptians, for whom the Nile was the very pulse of their civilization. Even today, water maintains a powerful hold on our collective psyche. Carl Jung might argue that bodies of water symbolize the depths of the unconscious, and to gaze into them is to confront the hidden aspects of ourselves. This act of reflection, repeated across millennia, underscores water’s primal importance. Water embodies a cyclical quality of human existence. The Rokin’s canal serves as a visual echo—a reminder that the past is always flowing into the present.