Gezicht op de Cathedral Spires in Yosemite Valley, Californië before 1886

George Fiske created this print of Cathedral Spires in Yosemite Valley, California. It captures the awe-inspiring vista through the lens of late 19th-century landscape photography. The print emphasizes a composition dominated by verticality. Towering trees and distant spires create a sense of depth. The use of grayscale enhances the textural contrasts between the rough bark of the trees and the smooth, distant rock formations. Fiske uses a structured layering effect. Darker, densely packed trees frame the lighter, more open spaces behind. The photographic image destabilizes traditional landscape painting. This is partly due to the mechanical precision of photography, but also due to the way in which the sharp vertical forms challenge conventional perspective. The print functions as a document and an artistic statement. It invites us to consider the relationship between nature, representation, and the emerging visual culture of the American West.