Dromedarissen takelen water uit een put in Tunesië 1863 - 1900

The Neurdein Frères made this photograph of camels drawing water from a well in Tunisia. It’s a striking image that speaks to the colonial gaze and the representation of labor. Captured during a time of French colonial influence in Tunisia, the photo presents a view of North African life seemingly untouched by European modernity. But consider the likely audience. Photographs like this were often produced and consumed in Europe, reinforcing a narrative of the ‘exotic’ and ‘primitive’ cultures of colonized lands. The labor of the Tunisian people and animals is put on display, arguably for the consumption of a European audience interested in seeing the ‘authentic’ lives of those they deemed 'other'. As historians, we can look to photography archives, colonial records, and travel literature to understand the context in which this image was made and circulated. The photograph serves not just as a depiction of a Tunisian well, but as a historical document reflecting the power dynamics of the colonial era.