Wasen c. 18th century

Editor: This is Salomon Gessner's "Wasen, im Canton Uri," an etching. The scene feels both immense and incredibly detailed. What symbols or deeper meanings do you see in this landscape? Curator: Notice how the winding path leads the eye upwards, towards the church perched atop the mountain. The church symbolizes spiritual aspiration, but what do you make of its placement, dominating the landscape? Editor: Perhaps it’s about faith's power over the natural world? Curator: Precisely! The rugged mountains, the tiny figures, the church – these all speak to the relationship between humanity, nature, and divinity, a recurring theme in Romantic-era art. The landscape itself becomes a symbol of the sublime. Editor: I never thought about landscape as a symbolic space. Thanks for illuminating that! Curator: My pleasure. Every mark carries meaning, waiting to be uncovered.