Gezicht op het Grand Hôtel du Désert bij La Grande Chartreuse, Frankrijk 1907 - 1935

Adolphe Burdet created this photographic slide of the Grand Hôtel du Désert in France, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It prompts us to consider the cultural and economic forces that shaped the development of tourism in this region. The image depicts a grand hotel nestled in a remote, mountainous landscape. This contrast invites us to think about the changing relationship between urban life and the natural world in Europe at this time. The rise of tourism was facilitated by new technologies such as railways and photography itself, allowing wider access to previously remote locations. These hotels catered to a growing middle class seeking leisure and escape from the industrialized cities. The name 'Grand Hôtel du Désert' is also interesting, playing on orientalist fantasies of the exotic in a familiar landscape. To understand it better, we might investigate hotel archives, tourist brochures, and travel accounts of the period, which would provide insight into the social and cultural context of this image.