Elegance of Lines

In the Val d'Annivers, the Zinalrothorn has reigned over the surrounding area for centuries. Here, the 4,221-meter-high mountain tears through a sea of clouds. The shot was taken just after the storm. Spring light is appearing, but the north face of this lord of the Alps remains asleep in icy shadow. An impassive wall, the Zinalrothorn blocks any attempt to reach Zermatt directly from Zinal.

Other giants of the Alps can be seen in the background. The Zinalrothorn is not the only one lost in the sea of clouds: Breithorn and the Klein Matterhorn also stand proudly in the sky. This work is brimming with a thousand realistic details: the steep line of the ridge; the appearance of small black rocks emerging from the snow freshly plastered on the face; the chiseled features of the centuries-old ice below, hidden in the half-light. Paradoxically, this omnipresence of detail leads to total abstraction: the viewer, lost in this Dantesque work, remains meditative, each detail opening up to new, ever more original, dreamlike interpretations.

This photograph reveals animal forms: could it be a shark fin? From the world above, a multitude of poetic silhouettes appear and renew themselves. How evocative this mountain is! Is it a thousand-year-old sea monster, a sleeping dragon? A legendary animal ready to awaken the souls of Zinal with its raucous mineral roar? Legend is at work before our very eyes... These abstract perceptions are made possible by exceptional snow conditions.

This unique photograph was made possible only after years of anticipation: how could a perfect sea of clouds, a mythical thousand-year-old animal and its celestial companions soaring in the distance be brought together in the same work? Rare are the moments of such pure grace... Through this portrait, I wanted to offer you an emotional inner journey, a contemplation that lifts you out of everyday life. Admiring the high mountains allows for this revealing introspection.