Frozen in time: Rare early images of the Himalayas from Italian pioneer

Sella captured peaks in the Karakoram Mountain Range, over a century ago

By Sudha G Tilak

Delhi

Vittorio Sella was a pioneering Italian photographer whose work at the turn of the 20th Century shaped both mountain photography and mountaineering history.

His rare images of the Himalayas remain some of the most iconic ever captured.

A new ongoing show in the Indian capital, Delhi, called Vittorio Sella: Photographer in the Himalaya brings to life the breathtaking grandeur of the Himalayas through his lens.

Curated by renowned British explorer and author Hugh Thomson and organised by Delhi Art Gallery (DAG), the show is likely one of the largest collection of Sella's Indian views.

It features some of the earliest high-altitude photographs of Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, and K2, the world's second-tallest mountain, captured over a century ago.

A game of polo being played in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, 1909

Born in Biella, a town known for its wool trade in northern Italy, Sella (1859–1943) made his first ascents in the nearby Alps.

"Throughout his career Sella made use of his skills in engineering and chemistry that the wool mills and his father had taught him," says Thomson.

By his twenties, he had mastered complex photographic techniques like the collodion process, enabling him to develop large-format glass plates under harsh conditions.

His panoramic images, crafted with technical perfection, earned worldwide acclaim.

A view of Darjeeling and Kanchenjunga, 1889

Sella's Himalayan journey began in 1899 when he joined British explorer Douglas Freshfield on an expedition circumnavigating Kanchenjunga.

Any circumnavigation of the mountain also involved an incursion into Nepal, which was also a closed kingdom.

While the team's climbing ambitions were thwarted by relentless rain, Sella seized the opportunity to capture pristine snow-dusted peaks. He experimented restlessly with technology, trying out telephoto pictures of Kanchenjunga. His images transported viewers to a world untouched by time.

Excerpt first published at BBC News, February 9, 2025

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