Jungfrau, gezien vanaf de Kleine Scheidegg 1912 - 1920

This is a photograph titled "Jungfrau, gezien vanaf de Kleine Scheidegg," whose artist is listed as anonymous. It’s difficult to consider the identities and personal experiences of the artist when their name is unknown, yet the image speaks volumes about cultural and historical contexts. The Jungfrau mountain, meaning "maiden" or "virgin" in German, looms large in the Swiss Alps, and even larger in the cultural imagination of the time. In the 19th century, mountain landscapes such as this one became symbols of purity, sublimity, and national identity. The sublime was understood as a complex experience of awe, terror and insignificance in the face of nature's vastness. This was a period when the cultural and economic elite would seek out 'untouched' nature in an effort to experience this feeling of the sublime. The decision to view the mountain from the Kleine Scheidegg, a railway junction, reveals an attempt to tame the wilderness by making it accessible. This image captures a moment where nature, culture, and personal experience intersect. It encourages us to consider our relationship with the natural world and the ways in which it shapes our identity.