On the Baltoro Glacier 1909

Curator: This is Vittorio Sella’s, On the Baltoro Glacier, a landscape photograph housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. It depicts a stark, mountainous scene. Editor: My first impression is of immense scale, coldness, and an overwhelming sense of geological time. Curator: Sella was renowned for his technical mastery of large-format photography. His process involved arduous climbs with heavy equipment to capture these remote locations. The print itself becomes a testament to labor. Editor: Indeed. And the images quickly became associated with adventure and exploration, shaping public perception of these distant, inaccessible places. They served a socio-political function in framing notions of wilderness. Curator: Precisely. The materiality of the photograph—the paper, the chemical processes—links it to a specific moment in photographic technology and its dissemination. Editor: Yes, but also consider how the image itself, widely circulated, contributes to the mythology and narratives we create around untouched landscapes. Curator: So, in essence, the material and the historical context are inseparable. Editor: Exactly. A chilling, but vital piece for us to consider today. Curator: I agree, and a reminder of the tangible processes behind even the most seemingly timeless images.