Mt. Blanc de Seilon, from the Seilon Glacier c. 1883

Editor: This photograph, "Mt. Blanc de Seilon, from the Seilon Glacier" by Vittorio Sella, is breathtaking in its starkness. The rocks in the foreground look almost manufactured, like they've been shaped. What do you make of this piece? Curator: I find Sella’s choice of vantage point fascinating. He highlights the labor involved, the physical exertion required to produce the image itself. Consider the materials – the photographic equipment, the darkroom chemicals – all transported to this remote location. Editor: So, it’s less about the mountain and more about what it took to get the picture? Curator: Precisely! And the social context. Who was consuming these images? What narratives were they reinforcing about exploration and the sublime? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way. It’s interesting to consider the image as a product of labor and consumption. Curator: Indeed. It reframes our understanding of landscape photography entirely.