EXHIBITION: The famous Italian photographer and mountaineer Vittorio Sella at Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography (museum.ge)

(museum.ge) Georgian National Museum, Embassy of Italy in Georgia and National Geographic Georgia, present photo exhibition by famous Italian photographer and mountaineer Vittorio Sella at Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography. Opening event will take place on 24 of July 2014, at 2 p.m.

Vittorio Sella (1859 -1943) was an Italian photographer and mountaineer, who took photographs of mountains which are regarded as some of the finest ever made. His contribution to geography, ethnography and development of Alpinizm is outstanding.

Vitorio Sella was born in Biella, Italy in the foothills of the Alps and acquired his interest in photography from his father, Giuzeppe Venanzio Sella and in alpinism from his uncle, Quintino Sella, scientist and politician, who was also the founder of the Italian Alpine Club.

Vitorio Sella made a number of significant climbs in the Alps and participated in numerous expeditions on four continents, including three travels to the Caucasus in 1889, 1890 and 1896.

Svanetian villages, landscapes, ethnography, families, culture, portraits and other significant details perfectly pictured by Sella will be presented for public at Svneti Museum of History and Ethnography for the first time. After decade, author's works return to the place where photographer was travelling.

The majority of photographs taken during the Caucasian expeditions is connected with Svaneti. In his diaries, Sella writes about Svans as the original, proud and noble people. Rezo Tabukashvili, famous Georgian film director, made a wonderful film "Vittorio Sella" in 1980.

Amazed with the beauty of the Caucasus, different regions of Georgia and with Svaneti in particular, Vittorio Sella left the wonderful photographs and important documents of our country to the world and the future generations.

Adress: Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography. Mestia, 7 A. Ioseliani Street.

PHOTOGALLERY: Svaneti by Vittorio Sella in 1886-1890

Svaneti by Vittorio Sella in 1886-1890 (Set)

Vittorio Sella, a famous Italian mountaineer and photographer of the 19th century, spent considerable time exploring the wonders of Svaneti. Photographs taken during his travels there reveal the people who have also been influenced by their natural environment. They are tall like their mountains and their eyes are as blue as the Svanetian sky. Vittorio Sella travelled to Svaneti and Racha three times and mounted 30 peaks. He compiled a valuable material on Georgia. His photographs were exhibited in London in 1890 and received the highest award by the Royal Geographic Society.

In 1889-1890 the famous mountain-climber and pioneer of photography, Count Vittorio Sella made a number of climbs in Svaneti. Earlier he participated in the expeditions in the Alps, Africa and Asia, Alaska. He created an impressive series,which was later exhibited by the British Geographical Society. His studies, pictures and diaries were collected by his ancestor Lodovico Sella.

The interest toward Sella's figure revived, when the famous public figure end documentary film director Rezo Tabukashvili found and managed to bring to Tbilisi the collection of pictures taken by Sella in Svaneti and Racha.
One of the Caucasian peaks still bear the name of Vittorio Sella. These pictures represent the best samples of the photography of late XIX century. According to the famous American photographer Ansel Adams, the purity of Sella's interpretation inspires religious reverence. V. Sella photos are kept in the State CinemaPhotoPhono Archive.

Svanetia Land in Caucasus.
Italian photographer and alpinist Vittorio Sella in his book gave the description of Mt. Ushba seen from the upper course of the Ingur river, Svanetia: "Behind this village a much more ancient sovereign dominated the valley from on high: Mt. Ushba, the mountain of rain. At dusk this soaring peak is sublime in the elegance of its indomitable forms, if at first glance it is surprising, upon closer observation its fantastic lines simply fascinate one. The white pyramid of Mt. Tetnuld in the distance and the long snowy crest moving towards Mt. Shkhara are the background of a stupendously grandiose picture. "

Blocked off to the north by the Greater Caucasus and to the south and east by the Sva-netskiy range, the peaks of which rise to 4,000 meters, the region has been virtually isolated since ancient times. In 253 B.C. the Georgian tsar Saurmag called the capital of Svanetia, Mestia, "the abode of silence and calm, " and sent his rebellious subjects there in exile. The region was never dominated hy feudatory princes; but a high price was paid for this independence. The inhabitants of the valley had to fight to the last man in cruel wars, barricaded in their typical fortress-like houses - singular towers made of square blocks of stone without windows. Many of these constructions still remain, especially in Mestiya; most of them were built in the period bridging the 12th and 13th centuries, during the golden age of Svanetia. According to legend, families found refuse from vendettas in these towers, remaining shut up there with arms and provisions for years on end. To this day Svanetian society has a tribal structure, the main cell of which, the clan, consists of 20-30 families (200-.?00 persons) that jealously preserve their ancient traditions. Mountaineering is also a part of Svanetian tradition, in 1903 a courageous hunter, Muratbi Kibolani, together with two Englishmen, was the first to climb Mt. Ushha from this side. The locals did not believe him, since they felt it was impossible to gain the top of the mountain, so Kibolani climbed the peak by himself and lit a fire to give proof of his feat. But the most famous alpinist in Svanetia was Michael Kherghiani, who took part in the first ascents of all the most difficult peaks in the Caucasus system. Together with V. Onischenko, he climbed some of the most arduous routes in the Alps, such as the Walker spur in the Grandes ]orasses and the Petit Dru. He died in the Dolomites in 1969 in Su Alto group.

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VERTICAL LANDSCAPES

The PHOTOGRAPHY of VITTORIO SELLA 1879-1943

FROM 26-01-2006 TO 17-04-2006

EXTENDED to 07-05-2006

Turin, GAM Via Magenta, 31
Opening: every day 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursdays 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Closed Mondays.

GAM di Torino, on the occasion of the Cultural Olympics accompanying the 20th Olympic Winter Games, is staging an important retrospective of the works of Vittorio Sella, a pioneer in mountain photography. The exhibition reveals to enthusiasts, and to all those with an interest, pictures that mark a fundamental moment in the representation of high-altitude landscapes.
The son of Giuseppe Venanzio Sella, the scientist and pioneer of photography in Italy (it was he who wrote the first Italian treatise on photography: Plico del fotografo, 1853), Vittorio Sella inherited a love of photography from his father, and a love of the mountains from his uncle Quintino, the founder of CAI, the Italian Alpine Club. These two passions led to the creation of a vast work of documentation, with thousands of plates and original prints now housed at the Fondazione Sella in Biella. From 1879 to 1909 he went on photography expeditions in the Alps, the Caucasus, and in Africa, Alaska and Asia, some of them with the Duke of the Abruzzi. His photographs very soon became key works of reference for geographical societies, mapmakers, geologists and, of course, mountaineers. Still today his photographs are a precious source of information for historic and scientific studies.
Technical skill, a balanced sense of perspective and of dominant lines, framing constructed in the form of a series of scenes, contrasts of light and shade, and extremely subtle gradations of tones and nuances form a masterly aesthetic whole, which reveals the extraordinary level of quality that was a constant feature of Sella’s photographs.
The exhibition will present about 100 photographs: original prints by Vittorio Sella using various formats and techniques, from 1879 to 1943. They include some extraordinary panoramas made up of photographs placed one next to the other, which the Biella-born photographer made during his numerous expeditions.

Exhibition curated by Lodovico Sella, organised and produced by GAM.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue, published by GAM – Fondazione Torino Musei, with pictures from the exhibition and essays by Marina Miraglia and Giuseppe Garimoldi.
Incoming: € 7.50 full; € 4.00 reduced

More: www.gamtorino.it

Links:

A Passion for Svaneti "[...] To Georgians, the Sv... 15. Febr. 2006 Rappo
Vittorio Sella , a famous Italian mountaineer and photographer of the 19th century, ... Vittorio Sella travelled to Svaneti and Racha three times and mounted 30 peaks. ... Vittorio Sella - Portraits Vittorio Sella ist wohl der grösste ...
Kurze Geschichte des Bergführens im Kaukasus Deuts... 22. März 2006 Rappo
Die Namen von Gakha Tsiklauri , Iagor Kazalikashwili und vieler anderer finden sich in den Berichten der Expeditionen von Freshfield, Merzbacher, Sella ua Das Bergführerdiplom, 1925 von der geographischen Gesellschaft Georgiens erstmals ...

Summit : Vittorio Sella : Mountaineer and Photographer : The Years 1879-1909 (Hardcover) by Greg Child (Contributor), Ansel Adams (Contributor), David Brower (Contributor), Paul Kallmes (Contributor), Wendy M. Watson (Contributor), Vittorio Sella (Photographer)

Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Aperture (September 1, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0893818089
ISBN-13: 978-0893818081
Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 11.1 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.23 pounds

From Library Journal

This book is a careful reproduction of some of the best black-and-white landscape photography ever collectedAthe work of Vittorio Sella. A courageous photographer and mountaineer, Sella climbed peaks on three continents to record stunning views at the top of the world; this book should make us grateful that he hauled heavy photography equipment on those ascents. The strength of this volume is its collection of images: tucked and rolling glaciers, unyielding mountains that seem to run in an infinite sequence from close to distant, and deep gaps full of the treachery of silence. The absolute clarity of the portraits demonstrates this climber's mastery of his medium. The images here look bold and contemporary: pure gatherings of white (snow), black (jagged peaks and ledges blocking sun), and various greys (clouds, shadows, and crevices). Ansel Adams's preface byAwhich he wrote as an appreciation in 1939Ajoins with reverent essays by other Sella admirers who know enough to stand aside while the photographs earn their own silent appreciation. Recommended for public and academic libraries.ADavid Bryant, New Canaan P.L., NJ Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Book

Description

Weighted with heavy, nineteenth-century camera equipment, Vittorio Sella climbed some of the world's most mysterious, perilous peaks and photographed them, many for the first time. His strikingly elegant photographs, which in Ansel Adams's words, "revealed [the mountains] in all their sheer majesty," offer groundbreaking scientific and documentary information as well. Climbers today still use Sella's pictures to map out routes and to better comprehend their challenges and the magnificence to come.Through Sella's images, we can witness the grandeur of the world's greatest peaks; the Russian Caucasus, the Saint Elias Range in Alaska, Mount Ruwenzori in Africa, the Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas. His photographic documentation of these peaks had no precedents and has few, if any, equals.Greg Child is a mountaineer and author of Thin Air (Dell, 1993). Wendy Watson is curator of exhibitions at Mount Holyoke College. Paul Kallmes, a renowned member of the American Alpine Club, has worked closely with the Fondazione Sella for several years.Published in association with Fondazione Sella and the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum.

HISTORY: A Passion for Svaneti - Vittorio Sella travelled to Svaneti and Racha

"[...] To Georgians, the Svanetian has always personified pride and persistence. Vittorio Sella, a famous Italian mountaineer and photographer of the 19th century, spent considerable time exploring the wonders of Svaneti. Photographs taken during his travels there reveal the people who have also been influenced by their natural environment. They are tall like their mountains and their eyes are as blue as the Svanetian sky. Vittorio Sella travelled to Svaneti and Racha three times and mounted 30 peaks. He compiled a valuable material on Georgia. His photographs were exhibited in London in 1890 and received the highest award by the Royal Geographic Society [...]
 

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Links:

* Vittorio Sella - Portraits Vittorio Sella ist wohl der grösste Bergfotograf, den es in der Geschichte desBergsteigens je gegeben hat.

* Vittorio Sella FOTOGRAFIE fotografie della sardegna - cagliari ... Biografie di fotografi, news, libri, recensioni e documenti bibliografici, Mostre,gallerie, fotografie della sardegna - cagliari - oristano - nuoro ...

* The Georgian Museum of Photography - In the centre of Vittorio Sella, 1889. Collections - V. Sella. SpyLOG. Copyright ©2004. The Georgian Association for the History of Photography in the ...