Lucknow, General View from Fort 1863 - 1866

Curator: This is Samuel Bourne's photograph, "Lucknow, General View from Fort." Bourne, born in 1834, was a British photographer known for his images of India in the late 19th century. Editor: There's an incredible stillness to it. Despite the city sprawling in the distance, the fort feels almost deserted, a captured moment of quietude. Curator: Bourne’s photographs often served a colonial purpose, documenting the landscape and architecture for a European audience, reinforcing power structures. Editor: Notice the tent in the foreground. It's such a temporary, transient symbol against the backdrop of this imposing, historical structure. Symbolically, it speaks volumes about the fleeting nature of power. Curator: Absolutely, the imagery reveals how photography during this period was instrumental in shaping perceptions and narratives about India. Editor: It leaves me pondering how the symbols we choose to immortalize in art and photography reflect our values and intentions. Curator: And how those symbols get reinterpreted across time, shaping our understanding of history.