Krater van de vulkaan Pulu-Sari op Java 1843 - 1845

Paulus Lauters created this print of the Pulu-Sari volcano crater in Java. The image gives us insight into the complicated history of Dutch colonialism and its romantic, yet exploitative, relationship with the natural world. There's a tension between the allure of the exotic landscape and the extractive industries that reshaped the physical environment and the lives of local populations. The figures around the crater give a sense of scale and perhaps hint at the human activity, like sulfur mining, connected to the volcano. We must consider the labor and the impact on the land that made these raw materials available to European markets. Consider how the picturesque aesthetic flattens any representation of the local culture. Instead, it emphasizes the volcano as a resource. It presents a specific vision of the region that served the colonizers’ agenda. Lauters' work invites us to think critically about the power dynamics embedded in landscape art.