Reiziger op een rots bij een telegraafpaal in een landschap in Perzië c. 1880 - 1895

Antoine Sevruguin made this photograph in Persia, probably in the late 19th century. It shows a man sitting on a rock next to a telegraph pole in a rural landscape. The image speaks to the complex relationship between technology, culture, and power in Persia during this period. On the one hand, the telegraph pole symbolizes modernization and connection to the wider world. It suggests that Persia was becoming integrated into the global economy and communication networks, although these benefitted very few. On the other hand, the man sitting on the rock represents a more traditional way of life, perhaps one that was being threatened or disrupted by these changes. Sevruguin's photographs can be seen as documents of social and cultural change, of a society in transition, which can be understood by looking at the archives of the Qajar dynasty and the records of European companies operating in Persia at this time. The meaning of this work relies on those contexts.