Haut-reliëf met Shiva als Nataraja in de grotten van Elefanta c. 1895 - 1915

This photograph captures a high relief sculpture of Shiva as Nataraja in the Elephanta Caves, made by an anonymous artist. There’s a real immediacy to the marks in the stone. You can see each cut, each removal of material as a gesture, like a brushstroke in slow motion. The sculptor's process is laid bare. The rough texture of the stone contrasts with the smoother, more refined forms of Shiva and the figures around him. Look closely at Shiva's limbs: they’re sensuous, thick, and rounded. The anonymous artist coaxed these curves from unforgiving rock. This kind of labor feels ancient, something about the weight of stone, the time involved. I think of Rodin, wrestling with a similar tactility, a similar sense of the body emerging from the block. This piece reminds us that art is a conversation across time, a constant reinterpretation and reimagining of forms. And sometimes, the most powerful statements are the ones left unsigned.