Bas-reliëf van Fatali Shah in rots, Perzië Possibly 1925

This is a photograph of a bas-relief of Fatali Shah in Persia by A.G.A. van Eelde. I wonder, what kind of tools did van Eelde use to carve this stone? Just imagine standing there, chisel in hand, slowly coaxing this image of a Shah on horseback out of the rock face. It's not just about skill, it’s about feeling. Each strike, each chip away, is a conversation with the stone, a dance between intention and accident. I love how the lines are both strong and delicate, how the horse seems to leap off the stone even though it’s still part of it. You know, it reminds me of some ancient murals, where figures are caught in this eternal, frozen moment. Van Eelde’s act of carving—how he captured a whole story, a sense of movement, in something so solid. There's a dialogue here, not just with the stone, but with all the artists who came before, all those who tried to capture life in a fixed form. And that’s what art is, isn’t it? A continuous echo through time.