Gezicht op een straat in Colombo, Sri Lanka before 1899

This is E. Castelein’s “Gezicht op een straat in Colombo, Sri Lanka”, a monochrome photograph found within a book. The image gives us a glimpse into Colombo, Sri Lanka, during a time of colonial rule. The choice to include this photograph in a book, alongside text in French, suggests it was created for a European audience. Notice how the photograph offers a particular view of the city. It highlights the architecture and the layout of the street, but it obscures the everyday life of its inhabitants. This framing might reflect a colonial gaze that emphasizes the orderly and picturesque aspects of the city, while overlooking the complexities of its social and cultural fabric. Consider the power dynamics at play here: who is looking, who is being looked at, and what stories are being told, or left untold? In considering Castelein’s photograph, we might contemplate the emotional distance it creates, inviting us to think critically about the relationship between observer and observed, colonizer and colonized.