Sunlight streams through an adjacent window on a seated woman holding a rose.

Guido Rey: 1861-1935

Son of Giacomo Vincenzo (1833-1907) and Lidia Mongenet. His father was an entrepreneur and deputy in the sub-alpine parliament and later in the Italian parliament. Industrialist, photographer, mountaineer and writer, he was regarded as one of the most famous exponents of Italian pictorialist photography. He developed an interest in photography as a young man, inspired by his cousin Vittorio Sella, and pursued his passion for drawing which he had started as a young pupil at the Albertina Academy. After finishing the Classical Lyceum he was not allowed to enrol at university as he had to work in the family business, a successful company which produced and sold fabrics. His work enabled him to travel widely and to learn languages. He travelled in Europe, America, the Middle East and Africa. His exploits in the mountains were numerous, encouraged by his uncle Quintino, his mother’s brother-in-law. When he was still very young he climbed Punta Bianca in Valtournanche. His most important book was «Il Monte Cervino» published in 1904. Highly acclaimed, it was translated into French, German and English. In 1934 he was awarded the Legion of Honour by the government of Paris for his mountaineering achievements. Source: “Ottocento Il Secolo romantico”, April-May 2003, year III; Maurizio Sella, Famiglia Sella Discendenze maschili e femminili 1570-2002, tip. Gariazzo, 2002 (TAV. 72). (Male and female descendants of the Sella family 1570-2002, printed Gariazzo, 2002 TABLE 72)