Brug over water met een bergachtig landschap op de achtergrond Possibly 1891 - 1894

A. Kaulfuss made this photograph of a bridge over water with a mountainous landscape in the background sometime between December 1891 and January 1894. We know Kaulfuss worked in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, and this photograph provides a window into the colonial relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia at the time. The Dutch colonial presence dramatically reshaped the Indonesian landscape. The photograph presents a scene of seeming tranquility, but the bridge and other structures indicate a human presence and intervention in the landscape. We can see this intervention as part of a broader project of colonial exploitation, where natural resources were extracted, and the landscape was transformed to serve Dutch interests. To understand this photograph fully, we need to consider the photographer's position within this colonial context. Archival research into Kaulfuss and the institutions he may have been associated with could reveal more about the social conditions that shaped its production. Only then can we truly understand the politics of its imagery.