Ruïne van Kasteel de Haar te Haarzuilens before 1892

This photograph shows the Ruïne van Kasteel de Haar, and was produced by an anonymous photographer working for Monumentenzorg. The image is a window onto a specific moment in time, freezing the castle in its ruined state. But it also speaks to the ways in which the built environment is constantly under construction and deconstruction. The bricks are weathered and worn, each telling a story of the labor that went into its making, and the passage of time that has slowly broken it down. Photography is a process that has transformed our relationship to history. The photograph, a physical object in itself, becomes a stand-in for the castle, a symbol of time, labor, and the impermanence of even the most monumental structures. So, looking at this image, think about the many layers of making that are embedded within it, the initial construction of the castle and the subsequent efforts to document and preserve its memory.