Kloof van Trient, Zwitserland 1880 - 1882

This stereo card, titled 'Kloof van Trient, Zwitserland,' captures the gorge of Trient in Switzerland. The image is dominated by the dramatic rock formations and a simple wooden bridge. The bridge motif, a connector between two worlds, evokes crossing from the known to the unknown. It is like the 'Bridge of Souls' of ancient myths, a passage to the afterlife. Consider the bridges in Turner's landscapes. In Turner's works they represent the sublime power of nature, but here the bridge is small, and the gorge is overpowering. Here, it mirrors our psychological landscape. The chasm is the untamed subconscious that lies beneath a thin layer of the conscious mind. The journey across symbolizes a rite of passage. It embodies a psychological transition, a movement from one state of being to another, reminding us that the symbols of our past continue to live and evolve in our present.