Landscape Number 51 c. 19th century

Editor: Here we have Alexandre Calame’s "Landscape Number 51" from the Harvard Art Museums. It's a very serene scene, almost romantic in its depiction of nature, but it's also slightly brooding. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The way the light filters through those trees is just...poetic, isn't it? Calame, bless his heart, was all about capturing the sublime power of nature. Do you think he saw nature as a refuge, maybe a mirror to the soul? Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way. More like a stage for human drama. Curator: Fair point! It's both, isn't it? Calame invites us to find our place within that vastness. So lovely and profound!