Het zomerpaleis Taman Ujung van de raja's van Karangasem 1900 - 1915

This photograph of Taman Ujung, the summer palace of the rajas of Karangasem, was taken by Johanna Hermina Marmelstein. The greyscale palette is almost monochromatic, but it opens to the light and the delicate ripples of the water. I’m drawn to the way the light in the photograph interacts with the water’s surface, creating a mesmerizing dance of reflections. The textures in the palace’s architecture are so crisp and defined, I want to run my hand over the balustrades and the stone pillars. It is as if I can feel the roughness of the stone, the smooth, cool surface of the water. My eye is drawn to the figures standing and sitting around the palace; they make the space feel lived-in and inhabited. The architecture reminds me of a Morandi still life, except instead of dusty bottles, it is a summer palace in what I can only imagine is a tropical paradise. It makes me think about the interplay of light and shadow, of stillness and movement, and the ways in which art invites us to see the world around us with new eyes.