Gezicht op de Berninapas in het Poschiavodal before 1899

Curator: The mood of this photograph is wonderfully melancholic. It seems to be suspended in time. Editor: I agree; it evokes a past era, and a rugged geography. What can you tell us about this arresting view? Curator: This gelatin-silver print, entitled *Gezicht op de Berninapas in het Poschiavodal,* or *View of the Bernina Pass in the Poschiavo Valley,* was taken by the Swiss firm Schroeder & Cie, sometime before 1899. Editor: Before 1899… The image itself really speaks to the way in which photography enabled expansion and a changing sense of scale. Look at the placement of the road and the relative absence of human structures. Curator: That’s right. The winding road cutting through the valley becomes a potent symbol. Roads have always signified connection, but here, nestled amidst these imposing mountains, it becomes a symbol of human ambition and, perhaps, even vulnerability in the face of nature. Editor: Gelatin silver prints reproduce with such clarity and are incredibly durable. This one has held up well. You really notice how the road is literally carved through the mountainside, following a set path with little disruption to the mountain’s appearance. The print process itself—the silver, the gelatin, the meticulous layering—echoes the slow, almost geological work of infrastructure. Curator: And speaking of infrastructure, I am particularly drawn to the mountains themselves. The sharp peaks almost pierce the sky and give the valley a certain sense of both danger and allure, suggesting a landscape yet unconquered by industry, a space with its own time-honored mythologies. Editor: It makes you wonder what materials were used to build that path. Did they source them locally? Was it created with heavy machinery, or did the laborers simply take from the surrounding environment? And now, viewing this, one ponders both its initial physical process as well as the social labor that enabled it. Curator: Indeed. So, considering both elements – the symbol and the source material—the photograph can prompt considerations about progress and nature. It presents a particular duality: we observe the road which literally transforms the natural landscape but is also subtly, almost deferentially, shaped by its overwhelming form. Editor: Precisely. Seeing how Schroeder & Cie captured it, how they distributed the light and emphasized texture, I feel that's what makes it special. Curator: An encounter with symbols, both new and old.