Gezicht op Klosters te Zwitserland 1897

Editor: This photograph, titled "Gezicht op Klosters te Zwitserland," capturing a view of Klosters in Switzerland, was created in 1897 using the gelatin silver print process. It’s beautiful, so crisp, and somehow…serene. What jumps out at you when you see it? Curator: The serenity you mention resonates. Early photography, like this gelatin-silver print, participated in constructing specific ideas about landscape. Before readily available color photography, black and white images like this, showcased and disseminated ideas about the sublime, especially within the popular landscape genre. How do you think this image reflects the socio-political moment it was created? Editor: Hmm… I guess I hadn’t considered that it might have a political element. Are you saying landscape photography isn't just about pretty scenery? Curator: Precisely. This photo’s aesthetic quality suggests a controlled, picturesque view, meant to be consumed by the public. Switzerland, already a tourist destination, benefited from photographs like this. The image visually promotes and idealizes Klosters to cultivate tourism. Editor: So, it's more than just a nice picture; it's actually contributing to the area’s economic development and reinforcing a specific idea of Swiss beauty for outside consumption? Curator: Exactly! And that raises the question of who *gets* to consume this image and participate in the lifestyle it advertises? Think about class and access to travel at the end of the 19th century. Editor: This makes me think differently about the role of photography; how an artwork like this really participates in creating, marketing, and shaping the cultural landscape, beyond just depicting it. Curator: It certainly does. Consider how images mediate our experience of place, even today.