Panorama of the Alps c. 19th century

Editor: Here we have Wolfgang Adam Töpffer's "Panorama of the Alps," a pencil drawing. It's so delicate and hazy! What strikes you about this work? Curator: I'm drawn to the material process. Pencil allows for mass production of landscape views, feeding into the emerging tourist industry. This image becomes a commodity, divorced from the actual experience of the Alps, consumed as a simulacrum. Does this cheap and readily available material diminish its artistic value, or democratize the sublime? Editor: That's a compelling question! I never considered how the medium relates to accessibility and consumption. Curator: Exactly! Thinking about the labor and the economic exchange surrounding the image reshapes our understanding. Editor: I'll definitely view landscapes differently now. Thanks!