Joseph Bettannier

Joseph Bettannier
French, 1817–after 1877

Hugi’s hut on a medial moraine of the lower Aar glacier from Louis Agassiz, Studies on Glaciers (Etudes sur les glaciers), 1840
Lithograph
19 ¼ x 13 1/8 in. (48.9 x 33.3 cm)
Courtesy of Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology, Kansas City, Missouri

Joseph Bettannier’s illustrations for Louis Agassiz’s seminal book on glaciers were appreciated for their scientific and aesthetic value. Text and image portrayed in great detail the dynamic movement of ice as it sculpted the landscape.

In Hugi’s hut, the artist documents the confluence of two great glaciers and the rustic headquarters of Franz-Joseph Hugi (Swiss, 1796–1855), a mountaine