Gezicht op een rivier nabij Kandy before 1883

Hugues Krafft took this photograph of a river near Kandy, Sri Lanka, sometime between 1853 and 1935. Krafft was part of a wave of Western travellers who ventured to then-colonial Sri Lanka. The image is an aestheticized view of Sri Lanka’s natural beauty. Here, the artist presents a seemingly untouched landscape. But this belies the realities of British colonialism and its impact on Sri Lankan society. As such, the image may remind us of the politics of imagery, which are so often involved in the justification of colonial power. When we study an image like this, we need to do more than simply consider its aesthetic value. Historical sources, such as colonial archives, travel journals, and indigenous accounts, help reveal the complex social conditions that shaped its creation. It is these social and institutional contexts that give meaning to the artwork.