BLANCHE BERTHOUD (1864-1938)
The Breithorn (4,165 m -13,664 ft)
Switzerland - Italy border
In Alpenpartie mit Sicht auf das Breithorn, oil on canvas
The mountain
The Breithorn (4,165 m -13,664 ft) which means "broad horn" in german - is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps as well as its highest peak (also called Breithorn Western Summit). The Breithorn is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It lies on the main chain of the Alps, approximately halfway between the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa and east of the Theodul Pass. Most of the massif is glaciated and includes several subsidiary peaks, all located east of the main summit: the Western summit (4, 165m), the Middle summit (4,159m), the Eastern Breithorn-twin also called The Gendarm (4,106m), the Roccia Nera (Schwarzfluh) (4,075m). The main summit is sometimes distinguished by the name Western Breithorn (German: Breithorn (Westgipfel), Italian: Breithorn Occidentale). The nearest settlements are Zermatt (Valais) and St-Jacques (Aosta Valley).
The Breithorn was first climbed in 1813 by Henry Maynard (climber), Joseph-Marie Couttet, Jean Gras, Jean-Baptiste Erin and Jean-Jacques Erin.
The painter
Blanche Berthoud was a Swiss painter from the region Neufchatel (Switzerland) who was very active throughout the first half of the 20th century. She was part of the Société romande des femmes peintres (Romande Society of Women Painter) founded by the painter Jeanne Lombard (1865-1945) who defended very fiercely mountain women painters, a world often reserved for men. She made several paintings and watercolors of the Breithorn, one of which was acquired by the Museum of Art and History of Neufchatel.
2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau