King of the Alps

Here's a portrait of the Matterhorn (4478m), also called the Matterhorn by our Swiss German friends and the inhabitants of Zermatt. It is without doubt the best-known pyramid in the Alps. A jewel of rock and ice straddling Switzerland and Italy, summit has been etched in the history of mountaineering since its first ascent by the famous Whymper in 1865.

Here, the Matterhorn is revealed between light and shade following an autumn storm: its windswept, sun-drenched, snow-covered East Face rises to the heavens; its famous North Face, part of the eternal Alpine trilogy (along with the Grandes Jorasses and Eiger), emerges from the bowels of the Valais soil. This sublime diamond rests on a fragile pedestal, the Matterhorngletscher dying below: awaiting the onslaught of summer heatwaves, it rests on this photograph, covered by a thick mantle of snow covering its wounds.

Everything about this mountain is oversized. The faces are massive, sharp; and the Hörnli ridge, as sharp as a blade, tears through the composition like a bolt of lightning. We can just make out the hut of the same name and Solvay's tiny bivouac...

This photograph also highlights the other summits surrounding this king of the Alps. Neighbouring summit, Dent d'Hérens appears shyly behind, although well above 4000m; I like its shape imitating the profile of the Matterhorn in its orientation. In the background, the Mont-Blanc massif appears, sparkling with beauty. All the most famous 4000m peaks of Chamonix are visible: the integral of Peuterey, Mont Blanc, Grandes Jorasses... legendary names. The Combin massif also comes into its own, with the triptych of Tsessette, Valsorey and Grafeneire. Not forgetting, closer to home, the famous Tête de Valpeline (3798m).

This Matterhorn is grandiose, incomparable, to see it once is to have it forever in your memory. Photography allows me to rediscover it in another form, like a painter constantly reinventing his subject. This portrait is a tribute to him, set in a dreamlike Alpine landscape. The viewer will appreciate the subtle play of light and the pure lines of the ridges and crests that shape this mineral world. Photographing this mountain is always a real challenge, one that I love to take up every time the "click" of my lens echoes through the valley of Zermatt : with this photograph, the challenge was to choose an angle of view that made the Matterhorn look like the highest mountain in the Alps. I wanted to turn the most beautiful alabaster in the world from above into an unsurpassable absolute.