Le glacier de l'Aletsch et le Lac de Märjelen 1889

Curator: What we're looking at here is a photograph, more precisely an albumen print from an album by Roland Napoleon Bonaparte, taken in 1889. It's titled "Le glacier de l'Aletsch et le Lac de Märjelen" or, translated, "The Aletsch Glacier and Lake Märjelen." Editor: My first impression? There's a strange quiet to it, despite the massive scale of what's depicted. The muted tones almost feel like a faded memory of a world that was. Curator: The Romantic period really loved dramatic landscapes like this. There’s almost a religious reverence there in its depiction of untamed nature. It spoke to an idea about the sublime—the way that awe-inspiring, terrifying things could actually give you a feeling of spiritual connectedness. Editor: Right, that dangerous beauty. It makes you wonder what the experience was like, lugging camera equipment up a mountain back then. There's real human endeavor folded into this print. Curator: Photography like this also really started democratizing access to art. Before, landscape paintings would mainly be viewed by nobility and wealthy patrons. A photo album, however, brought the sublime into middle-class parlors. They would buy photos from tourist spots just like buying postcards today! Editor: So, in a sense, this photograph is not just about the Aletsch Glacier. It is about that burgeoning desire to document and take ownership of natural wonders, both on a personal and collective level. What an incredibly complex notion captured in what, at first glance, seems to be a simple mountain vista. It makes one pause. Curator: It truly is a remarkable artifact—both in its artistry and what it tells us about the way people experienced and interacted with the world around them at the turn of the century. Editor: A faded window to an ever-changing, icy dream. Thanks for shedding some light on the historical significance of it all.