Gezicht op de Ciremai, West-Java 1838

This pencil drawing of the Ciremai mountain in West-Java was made in 1839 by Adrianus Johannes Bik. The mountain looms in the distance, its peak a silent, watchful presence over the landscape. Mountains, across cultures, are potent symbols of stability, permanence, and spiritual aspiration. Think of Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods, or Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. In Eastern traditions, mountains like Mount Kailash are revered as sacred centers of the cosmos, places of pilgrimage and meditation. Here, the Ciremai mountain evokes similar feelings of awe, and reverence. The mountain is an axis mundi, a connection between the earthly and the divine. It is a silent witness to the passage of time, its enduring presence a reminder of the cyclical nature of existence. This symbol resurfaces time and again in art, literature, and myth, evolving yet retaining its core meaning.