Gezicht in een dal, met sneeuw 1907 - 1930

Adolphe Burdet made this study of a snow-covered valley sometime between about 1875 and 1940. You can feel the cool air coming off this thing. Imagine Burdet, squinting against the sun and snow, trying to capture the immensity of the landscape on such a small plate. The subtle gradations of gray and white, the way the light catches the peaks – it’s almost like he’s sculpting with light. There is a kinship of vision in that landscape between Burdet, and other painters who grappled with the sublime, like Caspar David Friedrich. It's a reminder that we artists are all in conversation, borrowing and building upon each other's insights. Ultimately, it’s the artist’s personal, embodied experience that comes through. This little photograph becomes a window into the vastness and mystery of the natural world.