No. 21. Rocks and Dam below Frenchmans Bar (Low Water) 1889

This is a cyanotype print of the area below Frenchmans Bar made by Henry P. Bosse sometime in the late 19th century. Bosse, as a cartographer and engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, utilized photography to document the landscape of the Upper Mississippi River. This cyanotype process, rendering the scene in Prussian blue, invites reflection on the scientific and industrial progress of the era. Bosse’s work highlights the intersection of technology and the environment, yet the visual effect is one that softens industrialization through photography. Consider the tension between the objective, documentary impulse and the aesthetic result. Does the image evoke a sense of progress and mastery over nature, or does the striking blue hue suggest the emotional distance and melancholy that can accompany technological advancement? Think of it as holding both science and aesthetics in a delicate, even if blue, balance.