Emerald Lake, met op de achtergrond Mount Field before 1897

This photograph captures Emerald Lake with Mount Field in the background, taken by Walter Dwight Wilcox. The towering mountain, a recurrent motif in human expression, emerges as a primal symbol, a link to the sublime, inspiring awe across cultures. Think of the mountains in Caspar David Friedrich's landscapes. They are echoed through time in other traditions, as in the sacred mountains of Shinto, Japan, or the symbolic Mount Meru in Buddhist cosmology, all reflecting humanity's longing to bridge the earthly and the divine. The mountain has been interpreted by some psychoanalysts as a maternal symbol. The image touches something profound within us, a deep, almost subconscious recognition of nature's grandeur and our small place within it. The symbol of the mountain endures, echoing through art, religion, and the collective psyche, reminding us of the timeless human quest to understand our place in the world.