Besneeuwde bergen in Noorwegen 1889

Editor: This photograph, "Besneeuwde bergen in Noorwegen" taken in 1889 by Paul Güssfeldt using a gelatin-silver print, captures such a rugged landscape. The textures created with the light in contrast with dark areas create almost an overwhelming sense of the power of nature. What strikes you about it? Curator: What grabs me immediately is thinking about the production of this image, beyond its representational content. Consider the labor involved: the photographer hauling equipment up a mountainside in 1889. What choices led him to use the gelatin-silver process? And how does that choice impact the reading of this landscape? Editor: I guess I hadn’t considered that at all! I was just looking at the aesthetic. Is the material aspect significant, or would a different medium change the reading of the image too much? Curator: Massively. Think about how gelatin-silver prints were becoming more widespread then, influencing access to image making, versus more laborious older methods. Its relative ease of production plays a role in representing and even popularizing the landscape in a new way, for a growing audience beyond those who would visit themselves. Do you think this accessibility affected how Norway was viewed at the time? Editor: So it's not just about seeing mountains, but who gets to see them and how? That makes me think about the rising middle class at the time. This is a shift from painting landscapes just for wealthy patrons. Curator: Exactly! And consider also how the industrial processes behind creating gelatin-silver materials also impact our perception of ‘nature’. The photograph almost hides those material contradictions by portraying only an untouched wilderness. What does that tension create for you? Editor: It brings a whole new perspective. I hadn’t really thought about how intertwined industrialism and the sublime landscapes are in this image. Thanks. Curator: And thank you. Thinking about these connections helps understand this historical moment better.