Das Riesengebirge 1892

Editor: Here we have "Das Riesengebirge," a print from 1892. It's giving me major "old book" vibes – a sort of antique quality due to the typeface and paper. What's your interpretation of this piece, considering its time? Curator: What strikes me is its simultaneous embrace of nature and industrial progress. "Das Riesengebirge," refers to the Giant Mountains. Why do you think, at this historical moment, there was this impulse to document and, essentially, package a landscape? What social and political forces do you think were at play? Editor: Well, perhaps with increasing industrialization, there was a desire to preserve, on paper at least, the untouched natural world? Curator: Precisely! And who had access to such preservation? Consider the context: German unification had just happened. This book, this "journey in pictures," would likely have served a burgeoning middle class, eager to connect with a romanticized vision of their newly unified nation and its territories. Who is included in this vision, and who is not? Editor: So it's not just about nature, but about constructing a national identity? The photographs then are acting as more than just documentation. Curator: Exactly. These images play a role in defining a particular national narrative, tied to ideas of exploration, ownership, and perhaps even a subtle form of dominance over the landscape. The "Giant Mountains" are rendered as something to be consumed and possessed through the act of viewing. The font choice plays a role too, it has very gothic and nationalistic elements. Editor: That really makes me rethink the whole piece. I initially just saw an old book, but it's much more than that! Curator: Indeed. By understanding the context, we can challenge the seemingly neutral representation and explore the complex layers of meaning embedded within this object.