Bovenste deel van de Cascade de Berard c. 1860 - 1880

Editor: We’re looking at "Bovenste deel van de Cascade de Berard," a gelatin silver print from around 1860-1880 by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy. The waterfall is so powerful; the water just seems to burst out. What strikes you most about this image? Curator: What I see first is the enduring symbol of nature's raw power. The waterfall itself represents the unyielding force of the natural world, a common romantic trope but with an added layer here. Notice the built structure above, the mill; it symbolizes humanity's attempt to harness this force, to find a practical, even industrial, application for this elemental energy. Editor: It’s interesting to think of a mill as symbolic; I mainly saw it as part of the landscape. But how does that interplay change how we perceive the waterfall? Curator: It speaks to the relationship between humankind and nature in that period. The romantic ideal was about communion, but this image suggests something more complex – a desire not just to admire nature, but to dominate and utilize it. Even the choice to capture it in photography, a new technology, reinforces this impulse. It makes you consider, doesn't it, what we value: the sublime beauty or its potential function? Editor: Definitely gives me a different perspective! I was only considering the beauty of the water. It makes me realize the layers within such images, not just documenting a scene, but also revealing a specific attitude towards it. Curator: Precisely! By understanding those embedded layers of meaning, we understand more about the culture that produced the image, and the evolving symbols that bind us still.