Villa van Raden Saleh en zes portretten 1863 - 1866

This is a page from an album containing albumen prints by Woodbury & Page, and it shows the Villa of Raden Saleh and six portraits. The practice of photography in the Dutch East Indies in the mid-19th century raises questions about the depiction of colonial subjects and the power dynamics inherent in image-making. The photographs present a view of Indonesian society through a colonial lens. The villa itself, a European-style building, contrasts with the surrounding tropical landscape, perhaps symbolizing the imposition of Western culture on the local environment. The portraits likely depict individuals from different social classes, reflecting the hierarchical structure of colonial society. It's worth asking whether these images were intended to document or to exoticize the subjects for a European audience. To fully understand these photographs, we might turn to colonial archives, historical accounts, and studies of visual culture. The meaning of art is always contingent on the social and institutional context.