Drie kinderen bij een huis in de bergen before 1903

Editor: Here we have Edgar Milster's "Drie kinderen bij een huis in de bergen," made before 1903. It’s a gelatin silver print. It has a very intimate, almost documentary feel, focusing on this weathered house dwarfed by a looming mountain. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, my attention is drawn to the formal qualities of light and shadow. The sharp contrast isolates the architecture and figures, foregrounding their existence. Consider the texture created by the gelatin silver print; it gives the architecture and nature distinct and detailed form, despite the softness of the grayscale medium. Editor: So it’s less about what's *in* the photograph and more about *how* it’s presented, structurally? Curator: Precisely. The composition itself dictates our reading. Note how the strong vertical lines of the house's wooden structure conflict with the soft curving mountains that are faded by use of grayscale tonality. The children are carefully positioned at the front right to enhance and repeat that direction. This evokes an almost primordial relationship of nature overtaking civilization, yes? Editor: That contrast between nature and the built environment makes a lot of sense. The textures become even more present the more I view this landscape. Curator: Agreed, that textured grayscale becomes essential in that visual interpretation, especially as an artistic representation of that time period. Consider what alternative strategies Milster might use when constructing landscapes. Editor: That makes me look at prints very differently now. It’s like the print itself becomes the focal point and carries as much importance, if not more, than its subjects.