Gezicht op de Glacier de Leschaux c. 1860 - 1880

This stereoscopic card, a ‘Gezicht op de Glacier de Leschaux’, was produced by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy, using photography, sometime in the late 19th century. It's made of paper, using a photographic process that was becoming increasingly popular at the time. What's striking is the way this mass-produced image captures the sublime power of nature. The stereoscopic format would have given viewers an immersive, almost virtual reality experience of the mountainous landscape. The figures teetering on the edge are dwarfed by the scale of the mountain and glacier. There's a social aspect here too; the figures at the top of the mountain demonstrate a feat of labour to arrive there. The act of climbing, previously the preserve of scientists and guides, became popular with the burgeoning middle class who were seeking leisure activities. Ultimately, this modest paper object reminds us that art and visual culture are always shaped by the available technologies of production, and tied to wider social issues.