Vittorio Sella
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Muztagh_Tower_Tele_Sella_1909.jpg/220px-Muztagh_Tower_Tele_Sella_1909.jpg)
Vittorio Sella (born August 28, 1859 in Biella , Piedmont region , † August 12, 1943 there ) was an Italian mountaineer and mountain photographer . His recordings systematically documented the Alpine region for the first time.
Life
His father, Giuseppe Venanzio Sella, wrote the first Italian book on photography with the book Plico del fotografo in 1853, his uncle Quintino Sella directed the first Italian ascent of Monviso in 1863 and co-founded the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) on October 23, 1863 .
As an alpinist, Vittorio Sella managed, among other things, the first winter ascent of the southwest ridge of the Matterhorn on March 17, 1882 together with the brothers Jean Antoine , Jean Baptiste and Louis Carrel. Together with his friend Luigi Amadeo di Savoia , he traveled to Alaska , the East African Ruwenzori Mountains and in 1909 the Karakoram . In 1899 Sella accompanied the British alpinist Douglas Freshfield on his Kangchenjunga expedition.
Sella started taking pictures at the age of twenty. The excellent quality of his photographs can be explained by the fact that he worked with 30 × 36 cm photo plates , which he carried with him on his climbs despite their weight and fragility. He used the " wet collodion process ". Sella worked for ten years on a systematic photographic recording of the Alpine region. Some of Sella's works are exhibited in the Museo Nazionale della Montagna - Duca degli Abruzzi . The entire collection is managed by the Fondazione Sella in Biella.
literature
- Ronald Clark: The splendid hills. The life and photographs of Vittorio Sella 1859–1943. Phoenix House, London 1948.
- Ansel, Adams: Summit. Vittorio Sella; mountaineer and photographer 1879–1909. Aperture, New York 1999, ISBN 0-89381-808-9 .
- Douglas W. Freshfield: The exploration of the Caucasus. Vol. I. With Illustrations by Vittoria Sella. Publisher: Edward Arnold, London and New York, 1896
- The exploration of the Caucasus. Vol. II.
- Filippo De Filippi: The research trip HRH of Prince Ludwig Amadeus of Savoy, Duke of Abruzzo, to the Elias Mountains in Alaska in 1897. Leipzig, JJWeber, 1900. [127 illustrations in the text, 34 plates and 4 folded panoramas].
- Filippo De Filippi: Ruwenzori; an account of the expedition of Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, duke of Abruzzi . With a Preface by HRH The Duke of the Abruzzi. The translation from the Italian has been made by Caroline de Filippi, née Fitzgerald. The illustrations are from photographs taken by Vittorio Sella, member of the expedition. Publisher: Dutton New York, Published 1908
- Filippo de Filippi: Karakoram And Western Himalaya 1909 . An Account of the Expedition of Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi. Publisher: Constable London 1912, photos by Vittorio Sella, portfolio with 18 panoramas
Web links
- Photos by Vittorio Sella (Georgian Museum of Photographie)
- Personal folder on Vittorio Sella (PDF) in the historical Alpine archive of the Alpine clubs in Germany, Austria and South Tyrol (temporarily offline)
- Vittorio Sella: The "prince" of mountain photography
- Fondazione Sella, Biella: Mountain photos by Vittorio Sella
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Sella, Vittorio |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian alpinist and mountain photographer |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 28, 1859 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Biella |
DATE OF DEATH | August 12, 1943 |
Place of death | Biella |