Gezicht op een bergdal met rivier en een viaduct, vermoedelijk in de Auvergne 1902

This small photograph, most likely taken in the Auvergne region of France, shows a valley with a river and a viaduct. The photographer, Delizy, probably set up their camera and tripod somewhere high up, to capture the panoramic view. Looking at the landscape, I feel like the photographer’s eye was drawn to the viaduct, that line cutting across the valley, and how it sits in relation to the natural landscape. What was it like standing there, on the precipice, deciding how much sky to include, or how much of the foreground? There’s a push and pull between the industrial and the natural. It reminds me of the work of 19th-century landscape painters like Courbet, who were also interested in depicting the changing face of the countryside as a result of industrialisation. I wonder if Delizy knew their work? All artists are in conversation, and photography is just another brush.