A masterful work by Swiss photographer René Burri, this gelatin silver print captures the haunting beauty of wilted lotus blossoms adrift on Kunming Lake at Beijing's former Summer Palace. Burri's signature eye for poetic composition transforms decay into elegance, using the stark contrast of black and white to emphasize the delicate, spent forms of the blossoms against the still water. The image reflects both the transience of nature and the melancholic grandeur of a historically significant imperial landscape.