Tunnel op de Axenstrasse te Zwitserland 1896 - 1897

This photochrom print, "Tunnel op de Axenstrasse te Zwitserland", was created by Photochrom Zürich. The image is composed around the contrast between the rough, enclosing tunnel and the expansive, brightly lit landscape it frames. Notice how the tunnel's dark, earthy tones and coarse texture draw you in, while the vista beyond, with its soft blues and greens, invites a sense of freedom. The very structure of the tunnel acts as a visual device, almost a stage, directing our gaze outward. The figures within the tunnel, dwarfed by their surroundings, accentuate the sublime scale of nature. Here, the photograph plays with semiotic codes of enclosure and openness, security and exploration. The tunnel can be seen as representing a physical and psychological transition, pushing viewers from one state to another. The print's octagonal shape further isolates this scene, enhancing its quality as a captured moment. This interplay of form and content encourages us to consider not only what we see, but how we see, and how we interpret our relationship with the natural world.