Landscape c. 19th century

Curator: This is Alphonse Louis Pierre Trimolet’s print, "Landscape," and I immediately feel a sense of hushed reverence looking at it. Editor: It’s the scale, right? The vast, towering tree reduces the human figure to just another element within the landscape. One wonders about the cost of paper when looking at such a diminutive composition. Curator: Exactly! And the way the light filters through the leaves almost suggests a spiritual awakening. The shepherd with his flock seems to have stumbled into a sacred grove. What do you see? Editor: I see the labor. The marks left behind by the etching tool, the chemical processes involved in fixing the image to the plate, the paper-making process... the cost per sheet for mass production… Curator: Fascinating how such a small image can contain so much, both seen and unseen. It makes you think about our place in the world, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely, especially our place in the system of production and distribution.