Ingang van rotstunnel met wachters 1847

Adolphe Mouilleron created this print, "Entrance to a Rock Tunnel with Guards," sometime in the mid-19th century. This work offers us a glimpse into the world of labor and the social dynamics of the period. The figures at the entrance, likely guards, suggest a space that is both a workplace and a site of control. The tunnel itself, carved into the rock, represents human intervention in the natural landscape, indicative of the industrial ambitions of the era. Mouilleron, working in the 19th century, when Europe underwent massive economic and social change, captured scenes of everyday life, often focusing on the working class. The identities of the figures—their class, their roles, and their relationship to the space—hint at larger social hierarchies. This image is less about the grandeur of nature, and more about the intersection of labor, identity, and environment. It leaves us to reflect on the human cost of progress.