Gezicht op de Merligenstrasse langs de Thunersee, Zwitserland 1857 - 1914

Editor: We’re looking at “Gezicht op de Merligenstrasse langs de Thunersee, Zwitserland,” a gelatin-silver print attributed to Giorgio Sommer, dating from somewhere between 1857 and 1914. The stark contrast and dramatic landscape give it a romantic, almost otherworldly feel. What strikes you about this image? Curator: What’s fascinating here is how Sommer uses the relatively new medium of photography to both document and interpret the Swiss landscape. Notice how the road, carved precariously into the cliffside, hints at human intervention within the grandeur of nature. It reflects a period where infrastructure was a sign of progress and control. But what's being controlled, and for whom? Editor: So, you’re suggesting the photograph isn't just a pretty picture, but says something about power? Curator: Exactly. Who benefits from this road? Tourists, perhaps, drawn to the romantic ideals of the sublime, a trend deeply embedded in 19th-century culture and actively cultivated by the emerging tourism industry. And consider how photography itself democratized the distribution of landscape imagery; it became accessible to a broader audience, shaping perceptions of places like Switzerland. How does that influence your reading of the image? Editor: I hadn't thought about photography contributing to tourism, that's an interesting idea! Maybe this image, made as a reproducible photograph, aimed to bring people to this precise, constructed, experience of Switzerland. Curator: Precisely! And we have to consider, as always, who gets to decide whose landscape this becomes and how it's represented? This seemingly simple scenic shot really layers socio-political considerations into landscape and access, doesn't it? Editor: It really does! Seeing the photograph as more than just a picture definitely adds new depth to it. Thanks for helping me think about it that way. Curator: My pleasure! Analyzing these connections always enriches the art-viewing experience for me.