Written by Alexandra Dallago and Nadja Rosenberg, students from the University of Zurich.
Before the 19th century, the Alps were seen as a place of fear and mystery, but their image has shifted since they were mapped and explored (Fleming, 2004). Fleming (2004) describes this as a change "from a realm of terror and superstition to one of beauty, relaxation and contemplation" (Fleming, 2004, p. 51). This blog post focuses on how representation of the Swiss Alps evolved in art.
In conclusion, the Alps were once feared but turned into an admired symbol for culture and tourism. Artists and writers had an immense impact on reshaping the mountains into places of emotion, beauty escape from everyday life. This started as the alpine regions were explored and no longer seemed as scary anymore. Painters such as Calame played an important role in increasing tourism and establishing the Alps as a symbol of Switzerland in the 19th century. Artists influence cultural views and the perception of landscapes, often arousing greater interest in them.
References:
Basting, B. (2023, March 9). Calame's awe-inspiring Alpine views. Swiss National Museum - Swiss History. https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2023/03/calames-awe-inspiring-alpine-views/
Calame, Alexandre. (1856). The Rosenlaui Valley with the Wetterhorn. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexandre_Calame_Rosenlaui.jpg
Crauwels, T. (2024, October 18). The Alps in Literature: The age of Romanticism: Mountains in the Golden Age of Romanticism. The Fine Alpine Post by Thomas Crauwels. https://www.thomascrauwels.ch/en/blog/alpes-litterature-romantisme/
Fleming, F. (2004). The Alps and the Imagination. Ambio, 51–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25094588
Kunstmuseum Basel. (n.d.). Swiss Mountains. https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/collection/foci-of-the-collection/swiss-mountains
Raymond, P. (1993). Von der Landschaft im Kopf zur Landschaft aus Sprache: Die Romantisierung der Alpen in den Reiseschilderungen und die Literarisierung des Gebirges in der Erzählprosa der Goethezeit. Berlin, New York: Max Niemeyer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110923827