The Jungfrau, Bernese Oberland 1923

Editor: This is E. Gyger's photograph, "The Jungfrau, Bernese Oberland." It’s so stark, almost severe. What emotional weight do you think the image of a mountain like this carries? Curator: The Jungfrau, the "maiden," speaks to purity, but also inaccessibility. Consider the Romantic painters, who used mountains to symbolize the sublime—a terrifying, overwhelming power. Editor: So, it's about nature as something beyond human control? Curator: Precisely. And, in a cultural context, the mountain as a symbol also speaks to national identity, to a kind of rootedness in the landscape itself. Does that resonate with you here? Editor: Definitely. I hadn't considered the national identity aspect before. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Thinking about symbols helps us unlock so much meaning.