Marsh at Piat (Belle-Croix Plateau) c. 1863

Eugène Cuvelier captured this marsh on the Belle-Croix Plateau using photography, a relatively new medium, to reveal nature's hidden depths. Here, water mirrors the world above, blurring the boundary between reality and reflection, evoking the ancient symbol of the "speculum," or mirror. The mirror has long been a symbol of self-awareness but also of illusion and deception. This duality of the speculum echoes in the philosophy of Plato, where the material world is but a shadow of a higher truth. Cuvelier’s marsh is no mere landscape. It engages us in a profound dialogue about perception, truth, and the subconscious, reminding us that what we see is always mediated by our own internal reflections.