Etang de Liloe 1870s

Curator: We’re now looking at "Etang de Liloe," a landscape captured in the 1870s by Félix Bonfils, part of the Minneapolis Institute of Art's collection. It's an albumen print, a very popular photographic process in the 19th century, lending it that warm, sepia tone. Editor: Mmm, sepia. Gives it that wonderfully dreamy, almost vanished world feel. Makes me think of daguerreotypes I’d find tucked away in an old attic trunk, secrets layered within faded shadows. Curator: Bonfils was part of a wave of photographers who documented the landscapes of the Mediterranean and the Middle East for a European audience hungry for exotic imagery. His work became quite influential in shaping Western perceptions. Editor: You can almost feel the heat radiating off this image. The reflections in the water are hazy, like memories. The texture, even with the albumen print’s…flatness…has this strange tactile quality. Makes you want to reach out and touch those scraggly trees. Curator: It is interesting how he balances realism with a touch of romanticism, wouldn’t you agree? There’s a documentary aspect in the topographical detail, but the composition leans toward evoking a mood of contemplative serenity. And look at the perspective; it seems carefully crafted to emphasize both the natural beauty and the subtle infrastructure evident in the environment. Editor: Infrastructure…see, my first thought went right to its painterly qualities—how he uses light to create depth, the tonal shifts creating the atmosphere… it's less about, “Here is a place,” and more about, “How does this place *feel*?” Did the audience back then look at this and imagine going there? Curator: It's highly probable, especially during the rise of tourism during this time period. It helped to construct an imagined “Orient”, both for those who wished to travel there, and as a way to reinforce perceptions and hierarchies among those back home. Editor: So interesting how photography steps into these different roles – documentation and fantasy. Curator: It certainly gives us plenty to contemplate now! It is one of those images where its history and impact remain surprisingly active. Editor: Absolutely. Now I can say I saw a vanishing world, and pondered how those photographs defined it for us.