CHARLES-HENRI CONTENCIN (1898-1955)
Col de l'Iseran (2,764 m - 9,068 ft)
Crête des Lessieres (2,986 m - 9,796 ft)
France (Isère)
The Col de l'Iseran (2,764 m - 9,068 ft) one of the highest road passes in Europe allows the passage from the high Tarentaise (Isere Valley) to the high Maurienne (Arc Valley) by the D. 902 (eg N.202).
The pass itself is open in the lustrous schists that form the ridge of water sharing between Isère and Arc (they belong to the sheet of Méan Martin). The shaly lamination of these layers is generally arranged with a dip gently inclined to the northwest almost in accordance with the bottom, slightly inclined of the high valley of Iseran.
The crest of Leissières ((2,986 m - 9,796 ft) which dominates it on the western side is orthogonal to the watershed and to the structure of which it gives a natural cut: one sees there appearing the layers of the unit of the Malpasset, characterized by its material sedimentary near the Grande Motte series.
The painter
Charles-Henri Contencin (1898-1955) is a French painter who painted many landscapes of mountains and high mountains of the great Alpine peaks (mainly Mont Blanc and Massif and the Écrins). His palette is very characteristic. He particularly used the effects of sunrise or sunset over snow or glaciers. Raised in the Bernese Oberland to the age of 10-12 years, it was a lifelong mountain lover. Good climber, he was a member of the French Alpine Club, where he made the connection with the Mountain Painters Society (SPM). He made the First World War in the infantry and he received the War Cross. He then worked in an architectural office and at the Compagnie des chemins de Fer du Nord before joining the french national railways company, the SNCF, where he was responsible for engineering structures.
In addition to his professional designs it is also author of posters and handbills for the railways under the pseudonym "Charles-Henri." He is best known for its mountain paintings and left an important work. After many years of contempt coming mainly from parisian critics and intelligentsia, Contencin is now recognized worldwide as one of the major mountain painters of the 20th century.
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2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
Charles-Henri Contencin (1898-1955) is a French painter who painted many landscapes of mountains and high mountains of the great Alpine peaks (mainly Mont Blanc and Massif and the Écrins). His palette is very characteristic. He particularly used the effects of sunrise or sunset over snow or glaciers. Raised in the Bernese Oberland to the age of 10-12 years, it was a lifelong mountain lover. Good climber, he was a member of the French Alpine Club, where he made the connection with the Mountain Painters Society (SPM). He made the First World War in the infantry and he received the War Cross. He then worked in an architectural office and at the Compagnie des chemins de Fer du Nord before joining the french national railways company, the SNCF, where he was responsible for engineering structures.
In addition to his professional designs it is also author of posters and handbills for the railways under the pseudonym "Charles-Henri." He is best known for its mountain paintings and left an important work. After many years of contempt coming mainly from parisian critics and intelligentsia, Contencin is now recognized worldwide as one of the major mountain painters of the 20th century.
__________________________________________________
2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau