Gezicht op een dal bij Sexten, Italië 1860 - 1867

Carl Alexander Czichna captured this albumen print titled 'View of a Valley near Sexten, Italy'. Czichna’s lens frames the Italian landscape, but it also frames a period marked by profound shifts in how Europeans perceived nature and their place within it. Consider the romantic allure of the Alps, which became a symbol of sublime beauty and spiritual escape amidst the burgeoning industrial era. Yet, this romanticism often obscured the realities of those who inhabited these landscapes, their lives intertwined with the land in ways unseen by the casual observer. The photograph invites us to contemplate our relationship with the environment, and how our desires, fears, and aspirations shape the world around us. It reminds us that landscapes are not just passive backdrops, but active participants in the unfolding drama of human existence.