Mount Maudit, Savoy

1860

Louis-Auguste Bisson

(French, 1814–1876)

Culture

France, 19th century

Medium

albumen print from wet collodion negative

Measurements

Image: 23.2 x 39.2 cm (9 1/8 x 15 7/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)

Credit Line

James Parmelee Fund 1985.94

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Location

230 Photography

Did You Know?

Many major peaks in the Alps were first summited in the 1850s and 1860s, which aroused public interest in the mountains and created a demand for images of them.

Description

The Bisson brothers’ photograph of Mount Maudit—which translates as “cursed mountain”—makes the 14,649-foot peak seem inaccessible. In fact, it was not summited until 1878. Photographing at high altitudes necessitated climbing while carrying heavy equipment, including large glass plates and a portable darkroom, and required extraordinary technical prowess and speed in working with the chemicals at low temperatures.

$A horizontally oriented albumen print in sepia tones depicts a mountainous landscape. In the foreground, a fractured glacier of jagged white ice and deep shadows slopes upward toward a central peak. This dark rocky summit features a snowy left slope and a sharp stone spire to its right. On the far right, a steep rock face borders the terrain beneath a pale sky. A faint circular stamp marks the lower right corner.$