Gezicht op de Gornergletsjer met de Breithorn 1897

This is an undated photograph of the Gorner Glacier with the Breithorn, taken by an anonymous photographer. During the 19th century, glaciers became potent symbols, embodying both the sublime power of nature and the growing human ambition to understand and conquer the natural world. This photograph, with its stark contrast between the solid, unyielding rock and the fluid, yet frozen, glacier, speaks to the desire to capture and control the environment through the relatively new medium of photography. The anonymity of the photographer invites us to consider the broader social context of landscape photography, where the individual artist often recedes behind the scientific or commercial motives of documenting geographical features. How might the narrative shift if we knew the photographer was a woman, or of indigenous descent? Consider this photograph as more than just a landscape; it is a reflection of our complex relationship with nature, shaped by the desires and limitations of the human gaze.