Gezicht op het Hardangerfjord before 1893

Curator: This photograph, "Gezicht op het Hardangerfjord," meaning "View of the Hardangerfjord," captured by Paul Lange before 1893, presents us with a serene Norwegian landscape rendered in gelatin silver. What’s your initial take? Editor: My first impression is all about stillness and weight. Look at the texture and density created with that gelatin silver; there's this real heavy atmosphere hanging over the water that gives you a sensory sense of silence, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely, there's a palpable quiet. For me, Lange captured that mystical Nordic light perfectly. You know, he’s leaning into pictorialism here. It almost feels like a painting. The clouds seem to swirl with an almost dramatic intensity that’s echoed in the water’s surface. Editor: Exactly, and it’s a reminder that photography, even back then, was always about manipulation and making choices. Look at Lange working with light and shadow, coaxing this emotional depth from relatively rudimentary materials and technology. I wonder about his darkroom and equipment? I want to know how Lange worked with gelatin-silver printing processes and the labour that created this moody effect! Curator: That connection to process and labor really deepens the experience. To think of Lange, crafting each print by hand, infusing it with this vision. It adds another layer of intimacy, like gazing into the artist’s soul. This image also makes me consider what is hidden – literally, between the peaks of the mountains… that hidden depth just begs to be explored, for me at least. Editor: It’s that very stillness you described, translated into material form. That this technology captures what humans see - and yet the landscape feels both romantic and undeniably constructed. It reminds you how nature becomes a cultural product that Lange's materials transform through their manipulation of the scene's tones and qualities. It is about making materials talk! Curator: In seeing what Lange accomplished, with, as you’ve demonstrated, such thought in making choices, it certainly deepens my appreciation for not just the beauty on display here but what it took to get there. Thank you! Editor: And to think it starts with that moment - that encounter of light and gelatin. Thank you, this was great!