Monument van Isabella I van Castilië met Columbus in Granada, met op de achtergrond de Sierra Nevada before 1898

Here is the audio guide script about the artwork: This albumen print, likely created by Rafael Garzón around 1898, captures the monument of Isabella I of Castile with Columbus in Granada. The sepia tone washes the scene, lending a softness to the stark geometry of the erected monument in the foreground. Notice how the composition uses a receding perspective; the eye is drawn from the detailed stonework of the monument towards the distant, hazy Sierra Nevada mountains. The trees, skeletal in the early spring, act as vertical lines that frame the central subjects, almost like structuralist signifiers that mediate between the historical figures and the natural landscape. The photograph uses semiotic codes: the monument symbolizes power and exploration, while the landscape serves as a backdrop that could either validate or question the narrative of conquest and discovery. As you observe, consider how this formal arrangement evokes a sense of historical weight, complicated by the photograph's own perspective and the cultural implications of memorializing these figures.