View of Mountain Bluffs and Stream c. 19th century

Curator: This is Alexandre Calame’s "View of Mountain Bluffs and Stream." Look at how the sharp lines and gradations create a somber, almost gothic mood. Editor: Absolutely. It feels like a romanticized wilderness, but I wonder about access, about who is allowed to experience this sublime landscape? Curator: Consider the mountain: a symbol of permanence and the enduring power of nature, but also the challenges of reaching new heights, both physical and spiritual. Editor: That very idea of the “sublime” was really coded for a certain kind of privileged, white, masculine experience, wasn’t it? Who gets to define and claim that? Curator: It's a valid point. Perhaps the stream is meant to show the constant movement and change within this seemingly static world. Editor: Change is inevitable, right? Even in these idealized landscapes. Curator: Indeed, an interesting tension between our desire for stability and the reality of constant transformation. Editor: And how these landscapes, even in art, are never neutral, always shaped by power.