Gezicht op Kamp-Bornhofen over de Rijn c. 1881 - 1891

This anonymous photograph captures Gezicht op Kamp-Bornhofen over de Rijn and is part of an album which juxtaposes text with image. The image shows a landscape with a steep mountain ridge alongside a river. Landscape imagery such as this became popular in the late 19th century, corresponding with burgeoning nationalist movements that located identity in place. Images such as this could suggest a romanticized view of the German landscape. These kinds of images can reinforce a sense of belonging. The facing text may lend context to this image, perhaps reflecting the history, and/or mythologies associated with it. While visually appealing, landscape images such as this also have a complicated history, often obscuring the realities of social inequality and historical injustices, such as dispossession and the displacement of indigenous communities from their ancestral lands. It's a reminder that landscapes are never neutral; they carry complex histories.