Mont Blanc from Col de Balve c. 1880

Adolphe Braun made this albumen print, "Mont Blanc from Col de Balve," in the mid-19th century. This photographic process, popular at the time, involved coating paper with a layer of egg white—the albumen—mixed with salts, before being sensitized with silver nitrate. This gave the final image a glossy surface, and the sepia tones we see here. Braun was a textile designer who turned to photography, and in a way, he treated it like a manufactured product. He became known for large-scale landscapes, often printed in multiple sections. This commercial approach extended to employing a large team of assistants. The making of this image was no doubt labor-intensive, from the chemical preparation to the arduous task of transporting equipment up to the Col de Balme. Yet, the final print presents a seemingly objective view, a romantic vision of nature untouched. Considering this, we can reflect on photography’s complex relationship to both artistic expression and industrial production.