IJs kruien op de rivier St. Lawrence, Montréal, Canada c. 1870 - 1910

Curator: What strikes me immediately about this photograph is the almost overwhelming whiteness, a study in muted tones. Editor: It certainly feels like the very chill of the St. Lawrence River has been captured, nearly frozen, onto the photographic paper. This photograph by Alexander Henderson is titled "IJs kruien op de rivier St. Lawrence, Montréal, Canada" and was likely taken sometime between 1870 and 1910. Curator: Note how the stark horizontal lines—the distant tree line, the low horizon, even the dragged timber—emphasize the seemingly endless expanse. It directs the gaze across this flattened pictorial space, making one aware of its careful pictorial arrangement and pictorialist sensibilities. Editor: Yes, one can really sense the arduous labor in this scene. The visual economy gives prominence to the toil—the extraction of lumber perhaps, made difficult by the deep snow. Consider the labor involved in the whole process; from felling of the trees and then moving heavy logs using horse power in this snowy terrain, down to Henderson’s physical and chemical processes. Curator: Observe how Henderson uses selective focus. The foreground elements—the horse and the figures—possess a softer quality, differentiating it from the background. It’s more concerned with eliciting an atmospheric effect than precise realism. Editor: It does invite questions of what materials were accessible and under what environmental conditions were these types of landscape scenes even produced? What constraints and challenges did the photographic material place on representing snowy whiteness so prevalent here? Curator: Precisely, materiality provides a very different insight into this piece that goes beyond technique, symbolism or mere emotional effect. Editor: Indeed, looking through materiality as the frame for visual experiences such as this one has broadened my understanding of landscape photography. Curator: And considering the formal arrangements certainly enhanced my understanding of how the experience of Canadian landscapes are encoded in these images.