Loon Lake. Hatch Mountain. Mt. Danforth 1891

This is a photograph of Loon Lake, Hatch Mountain, and Mt. Danforth, made around the turn of the 20th century by Seneca Ray Stoddard. Notice how the landscape is vertically stacked, with the lake at the bottom, the mountain in the middle, and the sky above. This compositional structure echoes through art history, appearing in paintings and prints across cultures. Consider, for example, Chinese landscape paintings, where mountains, water, and sky are often arranged vertically to symbolize the harmony between earth and heaven. Or even, the triptychs of the Renaissance era. There is a psychoanalytic reading here of a connection to the viewer’s subconscious desire for balance and order, as it resonates on an emotional level, evoking feelings of peace and tranquility. This symbol of stacked landscapes is cyclical; it appears and reappears across time and space. Each instance carries the weight of its predecessors while also adapting to its own cultural and historical context.