Ode to the Glaciers

A celestial odyssey in the heart of the Mont Rose massif. Like an ode to the most grandiose mountains in the Valais Alps and the splendour of their thousand-year-old glaciers. From the summit of Nordend, the work guides us to the famous Dufourspitze, Switzerland's highest summit . Our journey continues to the Zumsteinspitze to reach the Margherita hut, perched on the Pointe Gnifetti on the Swiss-Italian border.

As autumn settles over the Alps, the first snows have sprinkled the high summits of Monte Rosa. Revealing the renewed mountain to the world, the clouds tear, twirl and cling to the sparkling peaks, conforming to the will of Aeolus and his impetuous breath. As a photographer of the heights, I listen to the mountains and watch the skies, ready to capture the precious moment that emerges from nothing. Fulgurance of nature in the grip of the elements' swirling fury. Vibrating with emotion, I watch the shadows sculpt the mountain, the sun illuminate its glaciers. The rocky horns of an invincible sovereign emerge from the mist to proclaim his victory.

This painting immortalizes a decisive stage in the history of the Alps. After overcoming the ravages of a particularly dry summer in 2022, the Monte Rosa massif is now revealing its innermost faults. Every year, its glaciers retreat further, despite their impressive size and altitude. Along with Mont Blanc, it will undoubtedly become the last Alpine refuge of eternal snows. The last witness to a fading world. The last bastion of an inexorably warming earth.

I didn't have the heart to photograph these mountains during the summer months. The opacity of their destiny reflected in their dry, dark rock. With a wounded soul, I waited for the first autumn rains to return before finally finding the peaks sprinkled with white. This is how the majestic and crystalline summits move me. But as the snow covers them, it reveals the scars of a mountain battered by the ravaging sun. This is the paradox of my art, which highlights the infinite beauty of the Alps while revealing the drama that plays out there. The crevasses of Monte Rosa as sublime and painful scars.