The Domes, Yosemite 1870 - 1874

Carleton Watkins created this photograph, "The Domes, Yosemite", capturing the sublime landscape with a particular emphasis on reflection. The still water mirrors the monumental domes, a motif laden with meaning. Consider the dome, an architectural symbol echoing throughout history from the Pantheon to the Florence Cathedral. It represents the cosmos, divinity, and shelter, a universal yearning for protection and understanding. In Watkins' photograph, this shape is mirrored, doubled, suggesting a profound connection between the earthly and the ethereal, reality and its reflection. This duality evokes the ancient concept of the "axis mundi," a point connecting heaven and earth, a bridge between conscious and subconscious realms. Reflections have appeared in art across the ages – Narcissus gazing into his pool, or the mirror in Van Eyck’s "Arnolfini Portrait." Here in Yosemite, the natural reflection invites a contemplation of mortality and eternity, urging us to recognize our place within the grand, cyclical unfolding of time.