Parti ved/ned [?] Tunnelen I Bratlandsdalen, Suldal, Noorwegen c. 1870 - 1900

This photograph of a tunnel in Bratlandsdalen, Suldal, Norway was taken by Knud Knudsen. While we don't have an exact date, Knudsen was active in the latter half of the 19th century, a period defined by expanding infrastructure and the romanticization of nature. This image invites us to consider how progress intersects with our perception of the natural world. Look at how the tunnel literally cuts through the landscape, framing a view of the world outside its rocky embrace. What does it mean to carve out a path, imposing human will upon nature? The figures with horses at the tunnel's mouth emphasize the scale of the rock. They bring a narrative element to the scene. Consider them traversing through the tunnel, as the landscape becomes a stage upon which we project our journeys. Knudsen's photograph captures a moment of transition, between nature's grandeur and human ambition.