JEBEL CHELIA PAINTED BY CONSTANT LOUCHE

CONSTANT LOUCHE (1880-1965) 

Jebel Chelia (2,328 m - 7,638 ft) 

Algeria 

The mountain 

Jebel Chelia (2,328 m - 7,638 ft) , Arabic: جبل شيليا‎, is a mountain in Algeria. It is the highest point in the Aurès Range which straddle the border between Algeria and Tunisia, and it is the second highest peak in Algeria after Mount Tahat. Jebel Chelia  Chélia is situated in the west of Khenchela, in Bouhmama county.

The painter 

Constant Louche was born  in Algiers where he received a scholarship from his hometown, to go to the Beaux-Arts in Paris. Although he paints nudes and portraits, he is especially appreciated by collectors of the time for his landscapes of Algeria  of which he is one of the best representatives with his warm colors. These paintings were presented in the salons and galleries of Algiers, and in Morocco, Corsica and Nice, but also in his studio. He began to exhibit in Algiers from 1907.
___________________________________________
2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

JEBEL AMOUR BY NASR'EDDINE ETIENNE DINET

NASR'EDDINE ETIENNE DINET (1861-1929) 

Jebel Amour  / Jebel Ksel (2,008 m - 6,587 ft) 

Algeria 

 In Caravane à Laghouat, 1890, oil on canvas

The mountain 

Jebel Amour (جبال العمور)  (Jebel Love in English) is a mountain range of Algeria located in the center of the country, constituting part of the Saharan Atlas and culminating at Jebel Ksel (2,008 m - 6,587 ft). In the Middle Ages, Jebel Amour was called Jebel Rached. It owes its current name to the Bedouin Arab tribe of Loves. Jebel Amour is part of the Saharan Atlas. It is located between the Ksour Mountains in the west and those of the Ouled Naïl in the East, but it is difficult to define its limits. It stretches over a hundred kilometers in length, from south-west to north-east, for a width of 60 kilometers, between the Sahara in the south and the "Hauts-Plateaux" in the north. It alternates between tabular surfaces and deep valleys. Djebel Amour is the best watered of the mountains of the Saharan Atlas; rainfall is between 300 and 400 mm per year, the central part receives more than 500 mm1. It is also rich in sources, bottoms of wadis, orchards and clear forests on the summits where still live rare species like some birds of prey and mouflon.

The painter 

Nasr'Eddine Dinet (born as Alphonse-Étienne Dinet in Paris) was a French orientalist painter.

Compared to modernist painters such as Henri Matisse, who also visited northern Africa in the first decade of the 20th century, Dinet’s paintings are extremely conservative. They are highly mimetic, indeed ethnographic, in their treatment of their subject.

Dinet’s understanding of Arab culture and language set him apart from other orientalist artists. Surprisingly, he was able to find nude models in rural Algeria. Before 1900, most of his works could be characterized as "anecdotal genre scenes". As he became more interested in Islam, he began to paint religious subjects more often. He was active in translating Arabic literature into French, publishing a translation of an Arab epic poem by Antarah ibn Shaddad in 1898.

Dinet was born the son of a prominent French judge.   From 1871, he studied at the prestogious Lycée Henry IV in Paris, where the future president Alexandre Millerand was also among the students. Upon graduation in 1881 he enrolled in the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts and entered the studio of Victor Galland. The following year he studied under William Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury at the Académie Julian. He also exhibited for the first time at the Salon des artistes français.

Dinet made his first trip to Bou Saâda by the Ouled Naïl Range in southern Algeria in 1884, with a team of entomologists. The following year he made a second trip on a government scholarship, this time to Laghouat. At that time he painted his first two Algerian pictures: les Terrasses de Laghouat and l’Oued M’Sila après l’orage (Oued M'Sila after the storm).

He won the silver medal for painting at the Exposition Universelle in 1889, and in the same year founded the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts along with Meissonier, Puvis de Chavannes, Rodin, Carolus-Duran and Charles Cottet. In 1887 he further founded with Léonce Bénédite, director of the Musée du Luxembourg, the Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français.

In 1903 he bought a house in Bou Saâda and spent three quarters of each year there.

He announced his conversion to Islam in a private letter of 1908, and completed his formal conversion in 1913, upon which he changed his name to Nasr’Eddine Dinet. In 1929 he and his wife undertook the Hajj to Mecca. The respect he earned from the natives of Algeria was reflected by the 5,000 who attended his funeral on 12 January 1930 in Bou Saâda. There he was eulogized by the former Governor General of Algeria Maurice Viollette.

___________________________________________
2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

JEBEL CHENOUA PAINTED BY FRANCISQUE NOAILLY

FRANCISQUE NOAILLY (1855-1942)

Jebel Chenoua  (905 m - 2,969 ft) 

Algeria

The mountain
Jebel Chenoua  (905 m - 2,969 ft) or Adrar n Cenwa in Berber or simply Le Chenoua,  is a mountain located in the area of Tipaza, in the north of Algeria and part of the Atlas range. The Chenoua mountain range is, to the west, the highest point of the Algerian Sahel hills. It is surrounded to the east by the Nador wadi, Tipaza river and to the west by the El Hachem wadi, Cherchell river. By joining the sea, the Chenoua forms an alternation of cliffs and beaches, visible from the panoramic road that runs along the Mediterranean. The corniche Chenoua, which extends to Cherchell (Caesarea), has small picturesque beaches. Cape Chenoua or Ras el Amouch offers a view of the bay and a walk in the caves of the cliff. Marble is taken from the quarries of Chenoua

The painter 
Louis François Marie Noailly, known as Francisque Noailly, was born in Marseille in 1855. After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, he studied with William Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
From 1875, he performed his military service in Algeria in the Zouaves regiment. He gets married in Algiers and installs his workshop in the district of La Redoute.From its wide windows, the view stretched from Bouzaréah to Cape Matifou and plunged into the port which he could look at without ever being dazzled except by the beauty of the view.
Landscapes, portraits and especially scenes typical of Algerian life are treated with the same talent. The port, the city, the streets of the Algiers' Kasbah, the indigenous interiors and the Jebel are the frames. Vendor of donuts, child guiding a blind man, women returning from the source to their mechta, odalisques in a Moorish court, small trades ... these are his subjects. In his paintings, oil or watercolors, he plays with shadows, light and against the light: dockers unloading a swing or woman weaving a carpet.
He taught for many years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, rue des generaux Morris, and was responsible, as director and professor, for the School of Decorative and Industrial Arts. A contemporary of Rochegrosse, Deshayes, Etienne Dinet and many others, he was part of the Orientalist painters' society and in 1935 received the first painting prize, Léon Cauvy, awarded by the Artistic Union of North Africa.
Francisque Noailly died in his house in Algiers, surrounded by his family, and left the memory of a right and sensitive man who hide his feelings under a grumpy aspect.

TASSILI N'AJJER IN VINTAGE STAMPS

VINTAGE STAMPS (1967-1983)

Tassili n'Ajeer (2,158 m - 7,080 ft)

Algeria- Lybia - Niger  

1 & 2. In Tassili n 'Ajjer,  Algérie 2. 80 and Algérie 0,50  (1983)

3. In Touraegs du Tassili, Postes Algérie, 0,70  (1967)

Courtesy mountainstamps.com

Tassili n'Ajjer (2,158 m - 7,080 ft) literally Plateau of the Rivers) is a heavily eroded sandstone rock formation in the Sahara desert, located on a vast plateau that encompasses southeastern Algeria, western Libya and northern Niger. It features over 300 rock arches, dense clusters of eroded sandstone rock pillars, and steep cliffs and gorges, where water pools permanently at the surface.
Tassili n'Ajjer covers an area of over 72,000 km2 (28,000 sq mi) and stands over 1000 m high with a culminating summit, Adrar Afao, at (2,158 m - 7,080 ft)
The plateau is also of great geological and aesthetic interest, as the panorama of geological formations of "rock forests" of eroded sandstone resembles a strange lunar landscape.
The rock formation is an archaeological site, noted for its numerous prehistoric parietal works of rock art, first reported in 1910, that date to the early Neolithic era at the end of the last glacial period during which the Sahara was an inhabitable savanna rather than the current desert. Although sources vary considerably, the earliest pieces of art are assumed to be 12,000 years old, the vast majority dates to the 9th and 10th millennia BP or younger, according to OSL dating of associated sediments. Among the 15,000 engravings so far identified depicted are large wild animals including antelopes and crocodiles, cattle herds and humans that engage in activities such as hunting and dancing. According to UNESCO, "The exceptional density of paintings and engravings... have made Tassili world famous." The archaeological site has been designated a national park, a Biosphere Reserve (cypresses) and was induced into UNESCO's World Heritage Site list as Tassili n'Ajjer National Park.

AÏDOUR / SANTA CRUZ PAINTED BY AUGUSTIN FERRANDO

AUGUSTIN FERRANDO  (1880-1957)

Aïdour / Santa Cruz (589m - 1932 ft) 

Algeria

In La baie d 'Oran et l'Aïdour, 1922, oil on cardboard, Private collection   

The Mountain 

The Aïdour (589m - 1932 ft)  also known under the name of Santa Cruz is a mountain  which dominates the city of Oran in Algeria. Several buildings are built at the top of the mountain, including a fortress and the well known christian chapel of Santa Cruz. 

This mountain is known by a number of toponyms, and especially its eastern end which dominates the city of Oran by a plateau and a steep hill separated by a small pass. This small coastal chain located to the west of the city of Oran, develops for a distance of about 25 km in a direction west-south-west, east-northeast. It ends at the sea in its eastern end by the Djebel Santon and the hill of Santa Cruz which enclose the bay of Mers el-Kebir. It dominates in the north the small coastal plain going from the Andalusians to the jebel Santon, and to the south the plain bordering the great Sebkha of Oran (salt lake) from Boutlelis to Oran.

From the 12th century this mountain is known as Aïdour, a name reported by Arab chroniclers. An even more ancient name is reported by other chroniclers: Mount Guedera or Guedara. Later the Turks called him Mourdjadjo. The Spaniards name the hill "La Silla" (the saddle). The name of concurrent use of the Aïdour is then Santa Cruz for the hill, and Murdjadjo for the plateau.

The Phoenicians had chosen Madagh Creek in the west to set up their trading posts, but the Romans preferred to develop the site of Portus Magnus 40 kilometers to the east on the present town of Bethioua. In the 15th century, during the Islamic period, a mausoleum (gubba) was erected on the eastern end of the plateau which dominates Oran, and dedicated to Abdelkader al-Jilani, prefessor and  eminent imam buried in Baghdad. The story goes that in 1425, one of the disciples of Abou Madyane, Tlemcen's famous saint, died suddenly before reaching the wadi and his disciples then installed small mausoleums in memory of his teacher Abdelkader al-Jilani. It is therefore not a tomb but a cenotaph.

In 1805, when Spain occupied Oran, the Marquis de Santa Cruz, governor of the city, decided in 1563 to build the fort of Santa Cruz on the rocky spur of Aïdour. His position was strategic for the defense of Oran and Mers El Kebir.
The chapel of Santa Cruz was built in 1850, after the terrible cholera epidemic of 1849, which had caused several hundred victims a day. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Salvation. In 1950, during the french colonisation, the construction project of the architect Lesaint was opened, with a cloister and a small Romane basilica with a slightly crushed dome, in the presence of Bishop Roncalli, apostolic nuncio, and future Pope John XXIII. The old chapel at the foot of the bell tower was demolished in 1951 at the beginning of the construction of the cloister, which ended in 1956.

 Source : 

 ©wanderingvertexes.blogspot.com

The Painter 

Augustin Jean Ferrando is a French orientalist painter born in Algeria in 1880 then French department. A student of the school of fine arts of Algiers in 1898, then of the Academy Druet and Rochegrosse, formerly of the school of the fine arts of Paris, with Fernand Cormon (1845-1924), he meets in Paris Derain, Matisse, Leger, Vlaminck, Utrillo. Ferrando, considered the only fawn painter from Algeria, and the representative of the Algiers School, obtained several vermilion medals (at the exhibitions of the Orientalist artists' society). It was mobilized in 1914 among the Zouaves of Algiers until 1918. He was appointed director of the Oran School of Fine Arts, founder of the Association of African Artists, and became curator of the Demaeght Museum in 1935. He worked in Oued Taria, where his second wife was born.
He has made numerous exhibitions in Algiers (Galerie Charlet), Oran (Galerie Pozzalo and Galerie Pasteur), Paris (Palais de New York),  The Biennale de Menton, Musée Rolin d'Autun in 1977, Boulogne-Billancourt in 1990, Versailles and Paris in 1992, and in the exhibition  Albert Marquet and his friends, July 2008,  at the Cultural center of Saint-Raphaël (France).
Source : 
 ©wanderingvertexes.blogspot.com

CAPE CARBON BY FREDERIC GADMER

FREDERIC GADMER  (1878-1954), 

Cape Carbon (220 m - 722 ft)

Algeria

In  Le Cap Carbon, Bougie, 1929. Autochrome Lumiere - Albert Kahn museum 

The mountain
Cape Carbon (220 m - 722 ft) is  cape located in the Wilaya of Béjaïa, north of the port of Béjaïa, Algeria. A tourist path, traced on the crest, frequented by the monkey magot, allows access. Cape carbon is situated in the Gouraya National Park. It seems that before colonization only a few rudimentary lanterns were placed near the shelters which served as a refuge for the Barbary ship, such as the ordinary lantern on the high tower of the Penon of Algiers. From 1834, the French installed on the rocky spur at the end of the Cape Carbon, a fixed light surmounted by a rotating crown bearing 8 lamps with reflectors arranged in a way to realize an eclipse fire of 30 seconds In 30 seconds.  The lantern was periodically modified between 1860 and 1900, until 1924 when the electrification of main fires and port fires was actively pursued. The Cape Carbon lighthouse is known to be the highest natural lighthouse in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the highest in the world. It is a "landing" lighthouse which indicates the proximity of the port of Béjaïa.

The photographer
Frédéric Georges Gadmer was born in 1878 in France into a Protestant family; his father, Leon, son of Swiss émigré, was confectioner. Before World War II, he follows his family in Paris and works as a photographer for the house Vitry, located Quai de la Rapée. As an heliogravure company, it performs work for the sciences and the arts, travel and education. In 1898 Gadmer completed his military service as a secretary to the staff then recalled in 1914 at the time of mobilization. In 1915, he joined the newly created  "Photographic Section of the Army" and carried pictures on the front, in the Dardanelles, with General Gouraud, then in Cameroon. In 1919, at age 41, he was hired as a photographer by Albert Khan for his project called "Archives of the Planet". He finds there his comrades of  "the film and photographic section of the army" Paul Castelnau and Fernand Cuville. Soon as he arrived, he made reports in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Palestine. It was the first to make a color portrait of Mustafa Kemal, leader of the Young Turks. In 1921, he returned to the Levant with Jean Brunhes, the scientific director of the Archives of the Planet. The same year, he attended General Gouraud, appointed High Commissioner in Syria. Operator and prolific photographer, specializing in distant lands and landscapes, it covers Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, Algeria and Tunisia. In 1930, he accompanied Father Francis Aupiais in Dahomey. He also works in Europe. In 1931, at the request of Marechal Lyautey, he photographies the Colonial Exhibition. It is one of the last person to leave the "Archives of the Planet" threatened by the Albert Kahn's bankruptcy in 1932. He then worked at the famous french newspaper L'Illustration and carries postcards for Yvon. He died in Paris, unmarried, in 1954.
Source: 
- Frédéric Gadmer 

About the  "Autochrome Lumière" Photos
The autochrome is a photographic reproduction of process colors patented December 17, 1903 by Auguste and Louis Lumière french brothers. This is the first industrial technique of photography colors, it produces positive images on glass plates. It was used between 1907 and 1932 approximately an particularly in many pictures of the World War I. A important number of photographs of mountains and landscapes around the world was made with this technique, particularly in the for  the Project "The archives of the planet" by Albert Kahn.
Source:
- Musée Départemental Albert Kahn on line

CIRQUE OF AÏN OUARKA PHOTOGRAPHED BY FREDERIC GADMER

FREDERIC GADMER (1878-1954)

 The Cirque of Aïn Ouarka  (1,672m - 5,485ft)

 Algeria

In Aïn -Ourka et les Pitons de Marne Verte, 1921 Autochrome Lumière,
Musée Départemental Albert Kahn 

The mountain 

The Cirque of Aïn Ouarka   (1,672m - 5,485ft) is a basin surrounded by steep mountains of green marl, where one can find two clear and deep saltwater ponds, coming from thermal waters. In this volcanic crater, in an exceptional landscape is located  the spa of Aïn Ouarka. Situated in the heart of the Ksours Mountains in the Western Saharan Atlas, Aïn Ouarka, part of the municipality of Asla, is located at a distance of 60 kilometers from the town of Aïn Sefra in the Wilaya of Naama.
The area of the high steppe plains of the Algerian western south is characterized by its great extents estimated at 6 million hectares and contains several types of natural environments articulated around ecosystems. Thus, under in arid climate, we find accessible zones of freshness, due to the presence of an important quantity of water, a rather rich biodiversity allowing the cohabitation of domestic, economic and ecological activities. The ecosystem of Aïn Ouarka is presented as a revealing case, requiring a careful thought in regards of its natural assets, its environmental constraints and its future prospects. The therapeutic benefits of water of this site has been highlighted from the very start of the century and much of researchers testify to the presence of two large lakes, with water clear and deep  showing  a site with important vegetation which shelters migratory birds temporarily. At present, the site of Aïn Ouarka, gives the impression of two small water marres very distant one from the other.

The photographer 

Frédéric Georges Gadmer was born in 1878 in France into a Protestant family; his father, Leon, son of Swiss émigré, was confectioner, and his mother, Marie Georgine, was unemployed. Before World War II, he follows his family in Paris and works as a photographer for the house Vitry, located Quai de la Rapée. As an heliogravure company, it performs work for the sciences and the arts, travel and education. In 1898 Gadmer completed his military service as a secretary to the staff then recalled in 1914 at the time of mobilization. In 1915, he joined the newly created  "Photographic Section of the Army" and carried pictures on the front, in the Dardanelles, with General Gouraud, then in Cameroon. In 1919, at age 41, he was hired as a photographer by Albert Khan for his project called "Archives of the Planet". He finds there his comrades of  "the film and photographic section of the army" Paul Castelnau and Fernand Cuville. Soon as he arrived, he made reports in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Palestine. It was the first to make a color portrait of Mustafa Kemal, leader of the Young Turks. In 1921, he returned to the Levant with Jean Brunhes, the scientific director of the Archives of the Planet. The same year, he attended General Gouraud, appointed High Commissioner in Syria. Operator and prolific photographer, specializing in distant lands and landscapes, it covers Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, Algeria and Tunisia. In 1930, he accompanied Father Francis Aupiais in Dahomey. He also works in Europe. In 1931, at the request of Marechal Lyautey, he photographies the Colonial Exhibition. It is one of the last person to leave the "Archives of the Planet" threatened by the Albert Kahn's bankruptcy in 1932. He then worked at the famous french newspaper L'Illustration and carries postcards for Yvon. He died in Paris, unmarried, in 1954 and is buried in Saint-Quentin, as his parents.

Source: 

- Frédéric Gadmer in the Médiathèque Albert Kahn

About the  "Autochrome Lumière" Photos

The autochrome is a photographic reproduction of process colors patented December 17, 1903 by Auguste and Louis Lumière french brothers. This is the first industrial technique of photography colors, it produces positive images on glass plates. It was used between 1907 and 1932 approximately an particularly in many pictures of the World War I. A important number of photographs of mountains and landscapes around the world was made with this technique, particularly in the for  the Project "The archives of the planet" by Albert Kahn.  

Source: 

- Musée Départemental Albert Kahn on line

JEBEL YEMMA GOURAYA SEEN BY FREDERIC GADMER

FREDERIC GADMER (1878-1954)

Jebel Yemma Gouraya (672m - 2,204ft) in 1929 

Algeria (Kabylia)

Autochrome Lumière - Albert Kahn Museum Paris

The mountain 

Jebel Yemma Gouraya or Gouraya (between 660 m and 672 m - between 2,165ft and 2,204ft ) is a mountain dominating the Gouraya National Park (Arabic: الحديقة الوطنية قورايا) north of Algeria (Kabylie),a long the coast of the Mediterranean sea, in the Wilaya of Bejaïa. It is located 96 km from Jijel, 111 km from Setif, 127 km from Tizi Ouzou and 230km from Algiers, capital of Algeria.

The mountain previously called Amsiwen was renamed Yemma Gouraya probably by the Spanish during the 16th century. Yemma meaning "mother" in Kabyle langage. This mountain is supposed to be the burial place of the sacred patron of the city, Yemma Gouraya, even if no archaeological evidence proves it. According to tradition, Yemma Gouraya was Yemma Mezghitane's sister, saint patron of Jijel, and Yemma Timezrit, patron of Timezrit. Gouraya means "protector of the mountain" (gur = "mountain" and aya = protective).

The summit can be reach by a winding path of gentle slope, where fragments of quartz shine. From there, one dominates the country and the entire bay. The Ile des Pisans (Island of Pisans) at a distance of 24 km, appears nearby, net, facing the Punic port. The mountains plunge directly into the sea, adding to the majesty of the place. At the summit, a fortress was built by the Spanish probably in the 16th century, redesigned by the French in the 19th century on the site of the marabout Yemma Gouraya which was destroyed in 1833. Jebel Yemma Gouraya is part of a protected area, the Gouraya Park.

The Gouraya Park (​​2,000 ha) hosts approximately 1.2 million visitors per year, especially in summer. Its sandy beaches, cliffs and crystal clear waters participate to keep it attractive. The flora and fauna are varied there, among which Berber macaques and golden jackal which live in the forests of the park. The park has been classified Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2004. This park was created for its diversity in endemic vegetation, marine and continental environments as well as regional history.

At the park, is added a marine area of ​​7,842 ha and a lake area "Lake Mézaia" (3 ha). It presents 15 archaeological treasures including historical sites.

Biodiversity in Gouraya National Park consists of 1709 species of flora and fauna among which 533 for flora species and 1156 for fauna species. 67 species are protected including 20 invertebrates, 1 reptile, 10 mammals, 3 plants and 33 birds.

The artist

Frédéric Georges Gadmer was born in 1878 in France into a Protestant family; his father, Leon, son of Swiss émigré, was confectioner, and his mother, Marie Georgine, was unemployed. Before World War II, he follows his family in Paris and works as a photographer for the house Vitry, located Quai de la Rapée. As an heliogravure company, it performs work for the sciences and the arts, travel and education. In 1898 Gadmer completed his military service as a secretary to the staff then recalled in 1914 at the time of mobilization. In 1915, he joined the newly created "Photographic Section of the Army" and carried pictures on the front, in the Dardanelles, with General Gouraud, then in Cameroon. In 1919, at age 41, he was hired as a photographer byAlbert Khan for his project called "Archives of the Planet". He finds there his comrades of "the film and photographic section of the army" Paul Castelnau and Fernand Cuville. Soon as he arrived, he made reports in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Palestine. It was the first to make a color portrait of Mustafa Kemal, leader of the Young Turks. In 1921, he returned to the Levant with Jean Brunhes, the scientific director of the Archives of the Planet. The same year, he attended General Gouraud, appointed High Commissioner in Syria. Operator and prolific photographer, specializing in distant lands and landscapes, it covers Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, Algeria and Tunisia. In 1930, he accompanied Father Francis Aupiais in Dahomey. He also works in Europe. In 1931, at the request of Marechal Lyautey, he photographies the Colonial Exhibition. It is one of the last person to leave the "Archives of the Planet" threatened by the Albert Kahn's bankruptcy in 1932. He then worked at the famous french newspaper L'Illustration and carries postcards for Yvon. He died in Paris, unmarried, in 1954 and is buried in Saint-Quentin, as his parents.

About the "Autochrome Lumière" Photos

The autochrome is a photographic reproduction of process colors patented December 17, 1903 by Auguste and Louis Lumière french brothers. This is the first industrial technique of photography colors, it produces positive images on glass plates. It was used between 1907 and 1932 approximately an particularly in many pictures of the World War I. A important number of photographs of mountains and landscapes around the world was made with this technique, particularly in the for the Project "The archives of the planet" by Albert Kahn.

___________________________________________

2019 - Wandering Vertexes...

by Francis Rousseau 

THE TELL ATLAS (LALLA KHEDIDJA) PAINTED BY CECIL A. HUNT

 CECIL ARTHUR HUNT  (1873-1965) 

Lalla Khedidja (2,308 m -7,572 ft)
Algeria

  In Tell Atlas near Constantine, oil on canvas,  The Potteries Museum (U.K)

The mountain 

Lalla Khedidja 2,308 m (7,572 ft) in the Jurjura Range is the  highest summit of the Tell Atlas (الاطلس التلي‎‎), a mountain chain over 1,500 km (932 mi) in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching from Morocco, to Tunisia through Algeria. The ranges of this system have average elevations of about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and form a natural barrier between the Mediterranean and the Sahara.  Several large cities such as the Algerian capital, Algiers and Oran lie at the base of the Tell Atlas. The Algerian city Constantine lies 80 km inland and directly in the mountains at 650 meters in elevation. A number of smaller towns and villages are situated within the Tell; for example, Chiffa is nestled within the Chiffa gorge.

The Tell Atlas runs parallel to the Mediterranean coast. Together with the Saharan Atlas to the south it forms the northernmost of two more or less parallel ranges which approach one another towards the east, remaining quite distinct from one another in Western Algeria and merging in Eastern Algeria. At the western end, it ends at the Rif and Middle Atlas ranges in Morocco. The Tell Atlas are also a distinct physiographic section of the larger Atlas Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger African Alpine System physiographic division.  The Tell Atlas and the Saharan Atlas form two natural barriers, the first against the Mediterranean and the second against the Sahara. Between them lies the valley of the Chelif and various lesser rivers.  South of the Tell Atlas is the high plateau of the Hautes Plaines (~1000 m in elevation) with level terrain where water collects during the wet season, forming large shallow salt lakes which become salt flats as they dry. Agriculture includes grazing of sheep and goats on grass in better-watered high plateau areas and some farming; dry-land barley is grown there.

The Chelif is a 725 km long river with headwaters in the Tell Atlas to its discharge into the Mediterranean. The Chelif is characterized by an extremely fertile valley. Other noteworthy rivers having their sources in this range are the Medjerda and the Seybouse River. Only seasonal streams are found flowing south from the Tell Atlas.

The painter 

Cecil Arthur Hunt was born in Torquay on 8 March 1873, the son of the highly regarded writer and geologist, Arthur Roope Hunt. He was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge, studying Classics and Law, and being called to the Bar in 1899. He treated painting and writing as serious pastimes until 1925, when he was elected to the full membership of the Royal Society of Painters in Water-Colours. He then relinquished his legal career to become a professional painter.

Hunt had first exhibited in 1900, at the Alpine Club Galleries, and had held his first major show a year later, alongside E Home Bruce at the Ryder Gallery. From the first, he established himself as an atmospheric painter of mountains, especially of the Alps and Dolomites. However, he was soon accepted as a master of a great variety of topographies, for he exhibited the products of his wide travels frequently and extensively. Favourite destinations included the West Country, the West Coast of Scotland, the Rhone Valley, Northern Italy, Rome and Taormina. From 1911, until his death, Hunt lived at Mallord House in Chelsea, especially designed for him by Sir Ralph Knott to include a large studio on the ground floor. During the summer months he and his family retreated to the farm estate of Foxworthy, on the edge of Dartmoor.
Hunt showed work regularly at the Royal Academy (from 1912), the Royal Society of British Artists (from 1914) and the Royal Society of Painters in Water-Colours (from 1918). He was elected a member of the RBA in 1914, an associate of the RWS in 1919, and a full member six years later. He acted as the Vice-President of the RWS for a three-year period from 1930. His many substantial solo shows included six at the Fine Art Society (1919-34) and one at Colnaghi’s (1945). Following his death, in 1965,  he was the subject of a large memorial show at the Royal Society of Painters in Water-Colours.
Chris Beetles has done much to revive interest in the work of Cecil Arthur Hunt. He mounted a large scale retrospective exhibition in 1996 at his London gallery, on the exact site of the artist’s first substantial show in 1901. The retrospective was accompanied by a definitive catalogue.

Sources:

- Chris Beetles Gallery