Gezicht op Schneegruben c. 1891

Curator: The quiet stillness in this shot of a mountain’s face immediately quiets my mind. The somber shades create an almost lunar feel. Editor: Indeed. This gelatin-silver print titled "Gezicht op Schneegruben" was produced around 1891 by E. Mertens & Cie. The materiality speaks to a period deeply invested in documenting the natural world through emerging technologies. Gelatin-silver printing allowed for greater tonal range and sharpness, ideal for capturing geological detail. Curator: It's amazing what that tonal range does to your imagination; you are right. The photograph appears simultaneously expansive and claustrophobic. My first impression was all shadow and rock; almost an invitation. I wonder how many journeys started on a dare or on the whims of capital at the place where this shot was taken? Editor: One can assume this image, like many landscape photographs of the period, played a role in promoting tourism and exploration. Its realism aligns it with scientific documentation. Note the almost clinical clarity—highlighting the specific textures and forms of the rock, thus, catering to scientific and aesthetic interests alike. Consider its economic role too: from cameras to darkroom materials to labor costs, documenting these locales required substantial investment. Curator: Investment, yes, because if something is rendered in the objective register of capital then one might easily expect some level of truth behind it—this is real, I'm paying for reality to be extracted for me from stone, wind and hard labour. Photography for profit as extraction... I can think of ways around this problem, perhaps an embrace of decay? The elements will return capital to chaos given enough time. Editor: Or that chaos, through new industrial processes and visual media like this, in turn fuels the engine of that very capital? I wonder if viewers at the time saw this stark beauty as both a scientific marvel and a potential resource? Curator: Interesting, how technology renders these mountains as raw data and spiritual haven—sometimes it feels like you cannot extract the one without the other. This discussion makes the mountains seem so present, their stoicism is reassuring somehow. Editor: It does underscore the complex interplay between artistic vision, material conditions, and social forces. It certainly reveals how something can exist between profit and inspiration.