Herders op de Parnassus before 1910

Editor: Here we have Frédéric Boissonnas’ "Herders op de Parnassus," a gelatin silver print, likely made before 1910. The scale makes it feel very immediate, almost like I could step right into this desolate scene. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: I'm interested in the gelatin silver printing process itself. Think about the labour involved. Mining the raw materials for the gelatin, refining the silver. Then, consider the social context. Why this subject matter? This is hardly just a landscape. Editor: So, you’re suggesting there's something deeper than just a snapshot of herders and a mountain? Curator: Precisely. This wasn't mass-produced. Someone had to decide on this particular scene, manipulate the materials to achieve this image. It implies leisure, access to technology, and even a certain idealized vision of pastoral life that conveniently overlooks the realities of agricultural labour at the turn of the century. What purpose do you think images like this one served? Editor: Perhaps it was a way for wealthier folks to romanticize rural life without actually engaging with it? Almost like a fantasy fulfilled through image consumption. Curator: Exactly! And notice how the figures, while present, are dwarfed by the landscape. What does that tell us about humanity’s perceived relationship to nature at the time, and how this photograph's material reality reinforces that? Editor: I never considered the relationship between the production of the photograph itself and the message it conveys about our relationship to land and labor. Food for thought, definitely. Curator: It challenges assumptions and reinterprets conventional historical narratives. I've gained new perspective on the work.