Berglandschap; de Alpen c. 1860 - 1880

This is Achille Quinet’s "Berglandschap; de Alpen", a landscape photograph of the Alps. Though the artwork’s date is unknown, Quinet lived between 1831 and 1900, a period in which Europe saw the advent of modernity. At the time, landscape photography served not only as a means of documentation, but also as a projection screen onto which desires and identities were formed and expressed. Quinet, like many of his contemporaries, captured the romantic allure of nature, specifically the Alps. Think about the tradition of the Grand Tour and the desire to see sublime landscapes. However, as we consider this image today, we might ponder how our understanding of nature has shifted. How does this image reflect our role in the climate crisis, and the mark we have made on the planet? Though beautiful, can we also see in it the traces of exploitation and environmental change?