Gezicht op de Mer de Glace te Zwitserland before 1875

Curator: Before us, we have an albumen print from before 1875 titled “Gezicht op de Mer de Glace te Zwitserland,” presenting a view of the Mer de Glace glacier in Switzerland. Editor: The image is breathtaking, and simultaneously a bit unsettling. The sheer scale of the landscape is quite imposing and the photographic medium used only heightens that sense of immense grandeur. Curator: Precisely. The albumen process itself, which was quite popular in the mid-19th century, involves coating paper with egg white to create a glossy surface for the photographic emulsion. This method resulted in exceptionally detailed prints, capturing the textures of the ice and rock formations with astonishing clarity. I think the material reality is also very much involved with this landscape—there would have been extensive time in preparing the printing material to create this piece. Editor: The choice of photography at this moment is also interesting. This wasn't just about documentation; these kinds of images shaped how the world understood the sublime, both conceptually and politically, within the frameworks of expanding nation-states and tourism. Think about how images of the American West contributed to Manifest Destiny! Curator: Absolutely, and consider how this photograph would have been perceived by the growing middle class. It’s a depiction of an almost unattainable, sublime landscape, made accessible through the relatively new technology of photography and the growth of consumer culture. Editor: It also speaks to how landscape photography served scientific and colonial endeavors during this period, recording territories and asserting claims. The making of this photograph then becomes not just a landscape, but an important artefact of historical vision. Curator: I hadn't considered it that way. I was mostly drawn in by the romantic nature and almost realism through this photo. I can see the power and manipulation in how one would have interpreted it! Thank you for showing that lens to me. Editor: Well, I, in turn, appreciate your observations of material and craft and production—they are certainly crucial when considering photographic technologies and landscape art.