Beeld van leeuw en man te Babylon, Hillah Possibly 1925

This photograph by A.G.A. van Eelde captures a sculpture of a lion and man in Babylon, Hillah. The monochrome palette simplifies the scene, allowing us to focus on the interplay between light and shadow on the stone surface. I’m drawn to the rough texture of the sculpture, it speaks to the hands that shaped it, the tools that carved it. There's a real physicality here, a sense of weight and permanence. The contrast between the smooth planes of the lion's body and the more roughly hewn details of the man’s form is really interesting. It makes me think of Rodin, of his ability to capture human emotion through the manipulation of form and texture. Like Rodin, van Eelde invites us to consider the complexities of the human condition. Art is an ongoing conversation, a constant process of reinterpretation and reinvention. There are no fixed meanings here, only endless possibilities.