THE EIGER SKETCHED BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

JOHN SINGER SARGENT (1856-1925)
The Eiger (3,970 m -13,020 ft)
Switzerland


In Eiger from Mürren (from Splendid Mountain Watercolours Sketchbook),
Watercolor and graphite, 40.6 x 27.6 cm,
The MET (Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950. Public Domain.

The painter
John Singer Sargent was an American artist who created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Switzerland, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida.
He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, but in later life he expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe. Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure. Even at his leisure, in escaping the pressures of the portrait studio, he painted with restless intensity, often painting from morning until night. His hundreds of watercolors of Venice are especially notable, many done from the perspective of a gondola. His colors were sometimes extremely vivid and as one reviewer noted, "Everything is given with the intensity of a dream." In the Middle East and North Africa Sargent painted Bedouins, goatherds, and fisherman. In the last decade of his life, he produced many watercolors in Maine, Florida, and in the American West, of fauna, flora, and native peoples.
With his watercolors, Sargent was able to indulge his earliest artistic inclinations for nature, architecture, exotic peoples, and noble mountain landscapes. And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself. His watercolors were executed with a joyful fluidness. His first major solo exhibit of watercolor works was at the Carfax Gallery in London in 1905. In 1909, he exhibited eighty-six watercolors in New York City, eighty-three of which were bought by the Brooklyn Museum. Evan Charteris wrote in 1927: 'To live with Sargent's water-colours is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardours of the noon.'
Although not generally accorded the critical respect given Winslow Homer, perhaps America's greatest watercolorist, scholarship has revealed that Sargent was fluent in the entire range of opaque and transparent watercolor technique, including the methods used by Homer.


The mountain
The Eiger (3,970m- 13,020 ft) is located in the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at (4,158 m-13,642 ft), constituting one of the most emblematic sights of the Swiss Alps. While the northern side of the mountain rises more than 3,000m -10,000 ft above the two valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, the southern side faces the large glaciers of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, the most glaciated region in the Alps. The most notable feature of the Eiger is its 1,800-metre-high - 5,900 ft north face of rock and ice, named Eigerwand or Nordwand, which is the biggest north face in the Alps. This huge face towers over the resort of Kleine Scheidegg at its base, on the homonymous pass connecting the two valleys.
The first ascent of the Eiger was made by Swiss guides Christian Almer and Peter Bohren and Irishman Charles Barrington, who climbed the west flank on August 11, 1858.
The north face, considered amongst the most challenging and dangerous ascents, was first climbed in 1938 by an Austrian-German expedition with Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vцrg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek. The Eiger has been highly-publicized for the many tragedies involving climbing expeditions.
In 1973 : first all female ascent of the face by Wanda Rutkiewicz, Danuta Gellner-Wach and Stefania Egierszdorff. All Polish.
In June 2006, François Bon and Antoine Montant make the first speedflying descent of the Eiger
Since 1935, at least sixty-four climbers have died attempting the north face, earning it the German nickname Mordwand, literally "murder(ous) wall"—a pun on its correct title of Nordwand (North Wall).
Although the summit of the Eiger can be reached by experienced climbers only, a railway tunnel runs inside the mountain, and two internal stations provide easy access to viewing-windows carved into the rock face. They are both part of the Jungfrau Railway line, running from Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, between the Mцnch and the Jungfrau, at the highest railway station in Europe. The two stations within the Eiger are Eigerwand (behind the north face) and Eismeer (behind the south face), at around 3,000 metres.
The Eiger is mentioned in records dating back to the 13th century, but there is no clear indication of how exactly the peak gained its name. The three mountains of the ridge are commonly referred to as the Virgin (German: Jungfrau – translates to "virgin" or "maiden"), the Monk (Mцnch), and the Ogre (Eiger; the standard German word for ogre is Oger). The name has been linked to the Latin term acer, meaning "sharp" or "pointed", but more commonly to the German eigen, meaning "own".

___________________________________________

2021 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

THE JUNFRAU BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

 

JOHN SINGER SARGENT  (1856-1925)

The Jungfrau (4,158m -13, 642ft)

Switzerland

 

In Jungfrau from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours",  Sketchbook,  The MET museum

The mountain
The Jungfrau (4,158 m-13,642 ft) ("The virgin" in german) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall overlooking the Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau, one of the most distinctive sights of the Swiss Alps. It is one of the most represented by artists summits with the Matterhorn and the Mont Blanc.
Politically, the Jungfrau is split between the municipalities of Lauterbrunnen (Bern) and Fieschertal (Valais). It is the third-highest mountain of the Bernese Alps after the nearby Finsteraarhorn and Aletschhorn, respectively 12 and 8 km away. But from Lake Thun, and the greater part of the canton of Bern, it is the most conspicuous and the nearest of the Bernese Oberland peaks; with a height difference of 3,600 m between the summit and the town of Interlaken. This, and the extreme steepness of the north face, secured for it an early reputation for inaccessibility.
The landscapes around the Jungfrau are extremely contrasted. Instead of the vertiginous precipices of the north-west, the south-east side emerges from the upper snows of the Aletsch Glacier at around 3,500 metres. The 20 km long valley of Aletsch on the south-east is completely uninhabited and also surrounded by other similar glacier valleys. The whole area constitutes the largest glaciated area in the Alps as well as in Europe.
More about The Jungfrau 

The painter
John Singer Sargent was an American artist who created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Switzerland, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida.
He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, but in later life he expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe. Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure. Even at his leisure, in escaping the pressures of the portrait studio, he painted with restless intensity, often painting from morning until night. His hundreds of watercolors of Venice are especially notable, many done from the perspective of a gondola. His colors were sometimes extremely vivid and as one reviewer noted, "Everything is given with the intensity of a dream."  

 In the Middle East and North Africa Sargent painted Bedouins, goatherds, and fisherman. In the last decade of his life, he produced many watercolors in Maine, Florida, and in the American West, of fauna, flora, and native peoples.
With his watercolors, Sargent was able to indulge his earliest artistic inclinations for nature, architecture, exotic peoples, and noble mountain landscapes. And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself. His watercolors were executed with a joyful fluidness. His first major solo exhibit of watercolor works was at the Carfax Gallery in London in 1905. In 1909, he exhibited eighty-six watercolors in New York City, eighty-three of which were bought by the Brooklyn Museum. Evan Charteris wrote in 1927: 'To live with Sargent's water-colours is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardours of the noon.'
Although not generally accorded the critical respect given Winslow Homer, perhaps America's greatest watercolorist, scholarship has revealed that Sargent was fluent in the entire range of opaque and transparent watercolor technique, including the methods used by Homer.
__________________________________

2020 - Wandering Vertexes / Mountain paintings
by Francis Rousseau

 

PUIG FUMAT BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

JOHN SINGER SARGENT  (1856-1925)

 Puig Fumat  (384 m -1,260ft)
Spain (Mallorca)

In Mallcorca- Cap san Vicente, watercolour, The Brooklyn Museum

The mountain 

Puig  Fumat (384m)  is the cape at the northeastern tip of Mallorca dominating Cape Formentor and the bay of San Vicente. In 1925, Antoni Parietti Coll (Palma, 1899-1979) made the route between Port de Pollença and the end of the peninsula of Formentor, opening ample tourism in this portion, as well as the perspective of the luxury hotel.

The painter 
John Singer Sargent  was an American artist who  created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Switzerland, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida. He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, but  in later life he expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe.  Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure.  Even at his leisure, in escaping the pressures of the portrait studio, he painted with restless intensity, often painting from morning until night.  His hundreds of watercolors of Venice are especially notable, many done from the perspective of a gondola. His colors were sometimes extremely vivid and as one reviewer noted, "Everything is given with the intensity of a dream." In the Middle East and North Africa Sargent painted Bedouins, goatherds, and fisherman. In the last decade of his life, he produced many watercolors in Maine, Florida, and in the American West, of fauna, flora, and native peoples.
With his watercolors, Sargent was able to indulge his earliest artistic inclinations for nature, architecture, exotic peoples, and noble mountain landscapes. And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself. His watercolors were executed with a joyful fluidness.   His first major solo exhibit of watercolor works was at the Carfax Gallery in London in 1905. In 1909, he exhibited 86 watercolors in New York City, 83 of which were bought by the Brooklyn Museum. Evan Charteris wrote in 1927: 'To live with Sargent's water-colours is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardours of the noon.'
Although not generally accorded the critical respect given Winslow Homer, perhaps America's greatest watercolorist, scholarship has revealed that Sargent was fluent in the entire range of opaque and transparent watercolor technique, including the methods used by Homer.

_____________________________

2018 - Wandering Vertexes...

by Francis Rousseau 

SCHRECKHORN PAINTED BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

JOHN SINGER SARGENT  (1856-1925)

Schreckhorn (4,078 m -13,379 ft)

Switzerland

 The MET, New York 

The mountain 

The Schreckhorn (4,078 m -13,379 ft)   is the highest peak located entirely in the canton of Berne Eastern Bernese Oberlands Alps, between Grimsel and the Fiescher and Eismeer Glaciers.  It forms with Lauteraarhorn an impressive double-summit. The Schreckhorn is the northernmost Alpine four-thousander and the northernmost summit rising above 4,000 metres in Europe, considered as  the most rugged and hardest 4.000 meter mountain in the Bernese Alps. 

This mountain is hard to approach, regardless from which side. In this point we can compare Schreckhorn with mountains like Aiguille Verte or La Dent Blanche.

The first ascent was on 16 August 1861 by Leslie Stephen, Ulrich Kaufmann, Christian Michel and Peter Michel. Their route of ascent, via the upper Schreck Couloir to the Schrecksattel and then by the south-east ridge, was the normal route for the following fifty years, but is now seldom used.

The peak had been attempted several times before this, most notably by the Swiss naturalist Joseph Hugi in 1828 (the Schreckhorn's Hugisattel is named after him) and the guided party of Pierre Jean Edouard Desor (a Swiss geologist) in 1842. 'The ambition of hoisting the first flag on the Schreckhorn, the one big Bernese summit which was untrodden, was far too obvious for us to resist', Desor later wrote, but they climbed a secondary summit of the Lauteraarhorn by mistake.

The first ascent by the south-west ridge (AD+) – the normal route by which the Schreckhorn is climbed – was made by John Wicks, Edward Branby and Claude Wilson on 26 July 1902. They decided to climb the very steep ridge without the help of local guides and succeeded in reaching the summit. The north-west ridge (the Andersongrat, D) was first climbed by John Stafford Anderson and George Percival Baker, with guides Ulrich Almer and Aloys Pollinger on 7 August 1883.

The painter 

John Singer Sargent  was an American artist who  created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Switzerland, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida.

He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, but  in later life he expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe.  Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure.  Even at his leisure, in escaping the pressures of the portrait studio, he painted with restless intensity, often painting from morning until night.  His hundreds of watercolors of Venice are especially notable, many done from the perspective of a gondola. His colors were sometimes extremely vivid and as one reviewer noted, "Everything is given with the intensity of a dream." In the Middle East and North Africa Sargent painted Bedouins, goatherds, and fisherman. In the last decade of his life, he produced many watercolors in Maine, Florida, and in the American West, of fauna, flora, and native peoples.

With his watercolors, Sargent was able to indulge his earliest artistic inclinations for nature, architecture, exotic peoples, and noble mountain landscapes. And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself. His watercolors were executed with a joyful fluidness.   His first major solo exhibit of watercolor works was at the Carfax Gallery in London in 1905. In 1909, he exhibited eighty-six watercolors in New York City, eighty-three of which were bought by the Brooklyn Museum. Evan Charteris wrote in 1927: 'To live with Sargent's water-colours is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardours of the noon.'

Although not generally accorded the critical respect given Winslow Homer, perhaps America's greatest watercolorist, scholarship has revealed that Sargent was fluent in the entire range of opaque and transparent watercolor technique, including the methods used by Homer. 

2016 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

MOAB MOUNTAINS PAINTED BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

JOHN SINGER SARGENT (1856-1925)  

Mountains of Moab  (910 m -3,000 ft) - (1,300 m - 4,300 ft)

Jordan

Painted in 1905 

The mountain

Moab mountains occupied a plateau about  (910 m -3,000 ft) above the level of the Mediterranean, or  1,300 m - 4,300 ft above the Dead Sea, and rising gradually from north to south.

It was bounded on the west by the Dead Sea and the southern section of the Jordan River; on the east by Ammon and the Arabian desert, from which it was separated by low, rolling hills; and on the south by Edom. The northern boundary varied, but generally is represented by a line drawn some miles above the northern extremity of the Dead Sea.

In Ezekiel 25:9 the boundaries are given as being marked by Beth-jeshimoth (north), Baal-meon (east), and Kiriathaim (south). That these limits were not fixed, however, is plain from the lists of cities given in Isaiah 15-16 and Jeremiah 48, where Heshbon, Elealeh, and Jazer are mentioned to the north of Beth-jeshimoth; Madaba, Beth-gamul, and Mephaath to the east of Baalmeon; and Dibon, Aroer, Bezer, Jahaz, and Kirhareseth to the south of Kiriathaim. The principal rivers of Moab mentioned in the Bible are the Arnon, the Dimon or Dibon, and the Nimrim.

The limestone hills which form the almost treeless plateau are generally steep but fertile. In the spring they are covered with grass and the table-land itself produces grain.

In the north are a number of long, deep ravines, and Mount Nebo, famous as the scene of the death of Moses. The rainfall is fairly plentiful and the climate, despite the hot summer, is cooler than the area west of the Jordan river, snow falling frequently in winter and in spring.

The plateau is dotted with hundreds of dolmens, menhirs, and stone circles, and contains many ruined villages, mostly of the Roman and Byzantine periods. The land is now occupied chiefly by Bedouin, though it contains such towns as al-Karak.

The territory occupied by Moab at the period of its greatest extent, before the invasion of the Amorites, divided itself naturally into three distinct and independent portions: the enclosed corner or canton south of the Arnon (referred to as "field of Moab"); the more open rolling country north of the Arnon, opposite Jericho and up to the hills of Gilead (called the "land of Moab"); and the district below sea level in the tropical depths of the Jordan valley.

The painter 
John Singer Sargent  was an American artist who  created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Switzerland, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida. He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, but  in later life he expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe.  Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure.  Even at his leisure, in escaping the pressures of the portrait studio, he painted with restless intensity, often painting from morning until night.  His hundreds of watercolors of Venice are especially notable, many done from the perspective of a gondola. His colors were sometimes extremely vivid and as one reviewer noted, "Everything is given with the intensity of a dream." In the Middle East and North Africa Sargent painted Bedouins, goatherds, and fisherman. In the last decade of his life, he produced many watercolors in Maine, Florida, and in the American West, of fauna, flora, and native peoples.
With his watercolors, Sargent was able to indulge his earliest artistic inclinations for nature, architecture, exotic peoples, and noble mountain landscapes. And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself. His watercolors were executed with a joyful fluidness.   His first major solo exhibit of watercolor works was at the Carfax Gallery in London in 1905. In 1909, he exhibited eighty-six watercolors in New York City, eighty-three of which were bought by the Brooklyn Museum. Evan Charteris wrote in 1927: 'To live with Sargent's water-colours is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardours of the noon.'
Although not generally accorded the critical respect given Winslow Homer, perhaps America's greatest watercolorist, scholarship has revealed that Sargent was fluent in the entire range of opaque and transparent watercolor technique, including the methods used by Homer.

2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

MONTE BIANCO PEINT PAR JOHN SINGER SARGENT

 

 

JOHN SINGER SARGENT (1856-1925)
Monte bianco (4805,59m)
Italie-France

In Portrait of Ambrogio Raffaele, Collection privée 

A propos de ce tableau.
Il représente le mont blanc du coté italien sur une colline de Courmayeur. Le personnage est le peintre italien de paysage Ambrogio Raffaele (1845-1928) Il est né à Vigevano. Dans ce portrait, Sargent le peint avec son kit de peintre et sa chaisepliante, assis au sommet d'une colline de Courmayeur, face au Monte Bianco, rendant ainsi hommage à sa technique de peinture sur le motif, en extérieur

Le peintre
John Singer Sargent,est un peintre américain qui vécut essentiellement en Europe.
Élève de Carolus-Duran, de Léon Bonnat et d'Adolphe Yvon, il étudie à l'École des beaux-arts de Paris. Il est ami ou proche de grands artistes de l'époque, comme Claude Monet, Paul Helleu, Albert Besnard, Gabriel Fauré ou encore Edmund Gosse. Sargent est particulièrement connu pour son habileté dans les portraits, caractérisés par un style sophistiqué, une virtuosité visuelle et une certaine audace théâtrale. Il réalise sur commande des portraits d'hommes et de femmes les plus célèbres, riches ou puissants d'Europe ou des États-Unis. Au cours de sa carrière, il composa environ neuf cents toiles et plus de deux mille aquarelles, ainsi que d'innombrables croquis et dessins. Son œuvre documente ses voyages à travers le monde, de Venise au Tyrol, de Corfou au Moyen-Orient, ou encore du Montana à la Floride. Il fut actif en France et en Angleterre et peignit des compositions à personnages, compositions religieuses, scènes de genre, figures, portraits, intérieurs, paysages, marines, des compositions murales, à la gouache, à l'aquarelle. Ce fut aussi un dessinateur. Il est proche du courant de l'impressionnisme américain.

La montagne
Le mont Blanc (4805,59m) en italien "il Monte Bianco, lorsque vu  de la Courmayeur dans le massif du Mont-Blanc, est le point culminant de la chaîne des Alpes. Il est le plus haut sommet d'Europe occidentale et le sixième sur le plan continental en prenant en compte les montagnes du Caucase, dont l'Elbrouz (5 643 mètres) est le plus haut sommet. Il se situe sur la frontière franco-italienne, entre le département de la Haute-Savoie (en France) et la région autonome de la Vallée d'Aoste (en Italie) ; cette frontière est l'objet d'un litige historique entre les deux pays. Le sommet, objet de fascination dans de nombreuses œuvres culturelles, a depuis plusieurs siècles représenté un objectif pour toutes sortes d'aventuriers, depuis sa première ascension en 1786. De nombreux itinéraires fréquentés permettent désormais de le gravir avec une préparation sérieuse. Afin de déterminer son altitude précise et quantifier l'évolution de celle-ci, des géomètres experts font l'ascension périodiquement. La dernière mesure connue, en 2023, est de 4805,59m. Le seuil de surfréquentation du mont Blanc est atteint, avec 300 à 400 départs par jour en été. Lors du sommet du Conseil national de la montagne qui s'est tenu à Sallanches, fin août 2006, il a été estimé que 25 000 à 30 000 personnes se sont lancées en 2005 à la conquête du mont Blanc. Avec l'ouverture des nouveaux marchés (Russie, Chine, Inde), ce sont 50 000 à 100 000 personnes qui pourraient demain tenter l'aventure, le chiffre de 200 000 ayant même été avancé. Ces perspectives sont cauchemardesques pour les défenseurs du site et pour certains responsables politiques de la vallée, comme le maire de Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, commune sur laquelle se situe le mont Blanc. Lors de l'été 2003, avec la sécheresse et une fréquentation accrue du site, plusieurs dizaines de tonnes de détritus et déchets divers ont été laissées par les alpinistes qui campaient dans le secteur du refuge du Goûter. L'association Pro-mont Blanc a édité en 2002 le livre Le versant noir du mont Blanc qui expose les problèmes actuels et futurs qui se posent pour conserver le site en l'état.
  _____________________________
2024 - Gravir les montagnes en peinture
Un blog de Francis Rousseau     

MASSIF DU MONT BLANC PEINT PAR JOHN SINGER SARGENT

 

JOHN SINGER SARGENT (1856-1925)
Massif du Mont Blanc  (4805,59m)
France- Italie

In "Mouantin Scene , aquarelle sur papier, 1908, Princeton University Art Museum

Le peintre
John Singer Sargent, est un peintre américain qui vécut essentiellement en Europe.
Élève de Carolus-Duran, de Léon Bonnat et d'Adolphe Yvon, il étudie à l'École des beaux-arts de Paris. Il est ami ou proche de grands artistes de l'époque, comme Claude Monet, Paul Helleu, Albert Besnard, Gabriel Fauré ou encore Edmund Gosse. Sargent est particulièrement connu pour son habileté dans les portraits, caractérisés par un style sophistiqué, une virtuosité visuelle et une certaine audace théâtrale. Il réalise sur commande des portraits d'hommes et de femmes les plus célèbres, riches ou puissants d'Europe ou des États-Unis. Au cours de sa carrière, il composa environ neuf cents toiles et plus de deux mille aquarelles, ainsi que d'innombrables croquis et dessins. Son œuvre documente ses voyages à travers le monde, de Venise au Tyrol, de Corfou au Moyen-Orient, ou encore du Montana à la Floride. Il fut actif en France et en Angleterre et peignit des compositions à personnages, compositions religieuses, scènes de genre, figures, portraits, intérieurs, paysages, marines, des compositions murales, à la gouache, à l'aquarelle. Ce fut aussi un dessinateur. Il est proche du courant de l'impressionnisme américain.

La montagne
Le mont Blanc (4805,59m) en italien "il Monte Bianco, lorsque vu  de la Courmayeur dans le massif du Mont-Blanc, est le point culminant de la chaîne des Alpes. Il est le plus haut sommet d'Europe occidentale et le sixième sur le plan continental en prenant en compte les montagnes du Caucase, dont l'Elbrouz (5 643 mètres) est le plus haut sommet. Il se situe sur la frontière franco-italienne, entre le département de la Haute-Savoie (en France) et la région autonome de la Vallée d'Aoste (en Italie) ; cette frontière est l'objet d'un litige historique entre les deux pays. Le sommet, objet de fascination dans de nombreuses œuvres culturelles, a depuis plusieurs siècles représenté un objectif pour toutes sortes d'aventuriers, depuis sa première ascension en 1786. De nombreux itinéraires fréquentés permettent désormais de le gravir avec une préparation sérieuse. Afin de déterminer son altitude précise et quantifier l'évolution de celle-ci, des géomètres experts font l'ascension périodiquement. La dernière mesure connue, en 2023, est de 4805,59m. Le seuil de surfréquentation du mont Blanc est atteint, avec 300 à 400 départs par jour en été. Lors du sommet du Conseil national de la montagne qui s'est tenu à Sallanches, fin août 2006, il a été estimé que 25 000 à 30 000 personnes se sont lancées en 2005 à la conquête du mont Blanc. Avec l'ouverture des nouveaux marchés (Russie, Chine, Inde), ce sont 50 000 à 100 000 personnes qui pourraient demain tenter l'aventure, le chiffre de 200 000 ayant même été avancé. Ces perspectives sont cauchemardesques pour les défenseurs du site et pour certains responsables politiques de la vallée, comme le maire de Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, commune sur laquelle se situe le mont Blanc. Lors de l'été 2003, avec la sécheresse et une fréquentation accrue du site, plusieurs dizaines de tonnes de détritus et déchets divers ont été laissées par les alpinistes qui campaient dans le secteur du refuge du Goûter. L'association Pro-mont Blanc a édité en 2002 le livre Le versant noir du mont Blanc qui expose les problèmes actuels et futurs qui se posent pour conserver le site en l'état.
  _____________________________
2023 - Gravir les montagnes en peinture
Un blog de Francis Rousseau     

LE COL DU SIMPLON PEINT PAR JOHN SINGER SARGENT

JOHN SINGER SARGENT  (1856-1925)
Le col du Simplon (2,006 m)
Suisse (Valais)

Le col
Le col du Simplon est un col des Alpes suisses situé dans le canton du Valais. Situé à 2 006 mètres1, il fait partie de la route principale 9, menant de Brigue à la frontière italienne, puis par la SS33, à Stresa. La déclivité moyenne est de 9 %. Le col est ouvert toute l'année et connaît un important trafic de poids lourds. Il est aussi placé sur la route européenne 62 (E62) reliant Nantes à Gênes. Le col du Simplon se trouve entre les Alpes valaisannes à l'ouest et les Alpes lépontines à l'est. Il relie le bassin du Rhône au bassin du Pô, se trouvant précisément entre la vallée de la Taferna, affluent de la Saltina qui se jette dans le Rhône à Brigue, et la vallée de la Diveria (Doveria en Suisse), affluent du Toce qui se jette dans le lac Majeur, relié au Pô par la rivière Tessin. La distance routière de Brigue (altitude : 691 m) au col du Simplon est de 22 km (dénivelé : 1 317 m) ; du col à la frontière italienne, de 20 km ; de la frontière à Stresa, sur le lac Majeur (altitude : 200 m, soit un dénivelé de 1 808 m), de 64 km. La route principale ne passe pas strictement au col orographique mais légèrement plus haut. Le véritable col se trouve légèrement à l'ouest de la route, à une altitude de 1 996 mètres.

Le peintre
John Singer Sargent, est un peintre américain qui vécut essentiellement en Europe. Élève de Carolus-Duran, de Léon Bonnat et d'Adolphe Yvon, il étudie à l'École des beaux-arts de Paris. Il est ami ou proche de grands artistes de l'époque, comme Claude Monet, Paul Helleu, Albert Besnard, Gabriel Fauré ou encore Edmund Gosse. Sargent est particulièrement connu pour son habileté dans les portraits, caractérisés par un style sophistiqué, une virtuosité visuelle et une certaine audace théâtrale. Il réalise sur commande des portraits d'hommes et de femmes les plus célèbres, riches ou puissants d'Europe ou des États-Unis,. Au cours de sa carrière, il composa environ neuf cents toiles et plus de deux mille aquarelles, ainsi que d'innombrables croquis et dessins. Son œuvre documente ses voyages à travers le monde, de Venise au Tyrol, de Corfou au Moyen-Orient, ou encore du Montana à la Floride. Il fut actif en France et en Angleterre et peignit des compositions à personnages, compositions religieuses, scènes de genre, figures, portraits, intérieurs, paysages, marines, des compositions murales, à la gouache, à l'aquarelle. Ce fut aussi un dessinateur. Il est proche du courant de l'impressionnisme américain.

________________________________________

2023 - Wandering Vertexes ....
Errant au-dessus des Sommets Silencieux...
Un blog de Francis Rousseau 

 

THE CERVIN /MATTERHORN BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT

JOHN SINGER SARGENT  (1856–1925) 

 Le Cervin  or Matterhorn  (4,478m -14,691ft)

Switzerland - Italy border

 In The Cervin, watercolour, 1905 -  Private collection 

The mountain 

The  Mont Cervin (4,478m -14,691ft) also known as the Matterhorn is an alpine summit located on the Swiss-Italian border between the canton of Valais and the Aosta Valley in Switzerland. It has several other names: Cervino in Italian, Grand'Bèca in Arpitan, Matterhorn in German. The Cervin / Matterhorn is the most famous mountain in Switzerland, including the pyramidal shape that it offers from the village of Zermatt, in the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais.

Its four sides are joined about 400 meters below the summit in a summit pyramid, called "roof." Its summit is a broad ridge about two meters, on which stand actually two summits: one called "Swiss summit," the farther east, and the "Italian summit" slightly lower (4,476 meters), on the west side of the ridge. The two are separated by a notch in the hollow of which a cross was laid in September 1901.

Its north face is one of the three great north faces of the Alps with the Eiger and the Grandes Jorasses.

The most famous faces of the Matterhorn are the faces east and north, seen from Zermatt. The first

1, 000 meters high, has great risk of falling rocks, which makes it dangerous climb. The north face high of 1100 meters, is one of the most dangerous sides of the Alps, particularly because of the risks of landslides and storms. The south side, overlooking the Breuil (Valtournenche above) is high, it, 1 350 meters. This is the face that offers the most channels. And finally, the west face the highest with its 1400 meters, is the one that is the subject of fewer climbs attempts. Between the west side and the north side there is also the north-northwest side, which does not stretch to the summit but stopped Zmutt Nose, on the bridge of the same name. This is the most dangerous route for climbing the Matterhorn. There is also a south-facing southeast, deemed to be the most difficult of the south face route, which leads to the Pic Muzio, on Furggen Shoulder.

Due to its pyramidal form, the Matterhorn has four main ridges, through which pass most of climbing routes. The easiest ridge, that borrows the normal route, is the Hörnli ridge (Hörnligrat in German): it is between the faces east and north, facing the Zermatt valley. Further west lies the Zmutt ridge (Zmuttgrat), between the north and west sides. Between the western and southern sides is the Lion ridge (Liongrat), also known as Italian ridge, which passes through the Tyndall peak, summit of the southern part of the west side, at which begins the upper face. Finally, the south side is separated from the face is Furggen

Swiss normal route from the cabin of the Hörnli, located at 3260 meters. Since Zermatt is accessed by gondola Schwarzsee; there are 700 vertical meters to the hut and 1200 vertical meters to the summit.

Difficulty (Hörnli ridge): AD (fairly difficult), 3 climbing passage; fixed ropes were installed near the top for easy ascension.

The Italian normal route, taking his departure in Breuil, follows almost entirely the southwest ridge, called the Lion ridge. It was inaugurated by the guide valtournain Jean-Antoine Carrel 17 July 1865.

The climb from the Italian side includes three steps:

- du Breuil (2012 meters) at the shelter Duke of Abruzzi in Oriondé (2802 meters)

- the refuge Duca degli Abruzzi refuge to Jean-Antoine Carrel (3830 meters)

- Jean-Antoine Carrel refuge at the summit (4478 meters).

The ascent by Hörnli ridge, July 14, 1865, was considered the last of the great feats of mountaineering in the Alps. But this ascent error ended at the beginning of the descent, in the death of 4 of the 7 members of the roped Victorieuse.

The painter 
John Singer Sargent  was an American artist who  created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. His oeuvre documents worldwide travel, from Venice to the Tyrol, Switzerland, Corfu, the Middle East, Montana, Maine, and Florida. He was trained in Paris prior to moving to London. Sargent enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter, but  in later life he expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to mural painting and working en plein air. He lived most of his life in Europe.  Each destination offered pictorial stimulation and treasure.  Even at his leisure, in escaping the pressures of the portrait studio, he painted with restless intensity, often painting from morning until night.  His hundreds of watercolors of Venice are especially notable, many done from the perspective of a gondola. His colors were sometimes extremely vivid and as one reviewer noted, "Everything is given with the intensity of a dream." In the Middle East and North Africa Sargent painted Bedouins, goatherds, and fisherman. In the last decade of his life, he produced many watercolors in Maine, Florida, and in the American West, of fauna, flora, and native peoples.
With his watercolors, Sargent was able to indulge his earliest artistic inclinations for nature, architecture, exotic peoples, and noble mountain landscapes. And it is in some of his late works where one senses Sargent painting most purely for himself. His watercolors were executed with a joyful fluidness.   His first major solo exhibit of watercolor works was at the Carfax Gallery in London in 1905. In 1909, he exhibited eighty-six watercolors in New York City, eighty-three of which were bought by the Brooklyn Museum. Evan Charteris wrote in 1927: 'To live with Sargent's water-colours is to live with sunshine captured and held, with the luster of a bright and legible world, 'the refluent shade' and 'the Ambient ardours of the noon.'
Although not generally accorded the critical respect given Winslow Homer, perhaps America's greatest watercolorist, scholarship has revealed that Sargent was fluent in the entire range of opaque and transparent watercolor technique, including the methods used by Homer.

2016 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

MONTE ULIA PAINTED BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923) 

Monte Ulia (243 m -797 ft)

Spain (Basque Country) 

The ridge
Mount Ulia (243m -  is a minor ridge located east of San Sebastian in the Basque Country, territory of Spain.The ridge stretching out to the east along the coastline sinks in the strait leading to the Bay of Pasaia. The chain overlooks San Sebastian to the west, with the Zurriola beach and the district of Gros lying right under it. This privileged location turned the place into an important leisure and romantic area in the early 20th century, a condition that has remained up to date, despite the pressure of increasing urban development.
Ulia is recorded as Mirall (a Gascon name and term) in 1530 after the whale observation point or rock still to be seen at the top of the ridge, while it was called Uliamendi as it approached the Zurriola inlet. The rock was used to watch out for migratory whales passing off the Basque coast before they became extinct in this area, with the watchers notifying the whalers from Donostia of their presence by means of a bonfire. Later the westernmost tip of the ridge standing out onto the sea, i.e. Monpas, took on a strategic value for a short period after 1898 and became a stronghold with hidden corridors, military facilities and batteries, ready for an attack from the ocean.
The Park of Nurseries of Ulia is at the beginning of the road going to Mount Ulia from Donostia. It is also named Park of Nurseries of Ulia since the nurseries situated inside the park were the provider of plants for the public gardens of Donostia-San Sebastiбn during all the 20th century and until 2008. The park is of great value because it includes two ancient water-tanks, because of its architectonic elements, and because of its flora and fauna.

The painter 
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida  was a Spanish painter.  Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land. Sorolla's influence on some other Spanish painters, such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres, was so noted that they are described as "sorollista."

After his death, Sorolla's widow, Clotilde Garcia del Castillo, left many of his paintings to the Spanish public. The paintings eventually formed the collection that is now known as the Museo Sorolla, which was the artist's house in Madrid. The museum opened in 1932.

Sorolla's work is represented in museums throughout Spain, Europe, America, and in many private collections in Europe and America. In 1933, J. Paul Getty purchased ten Impressionist beach scenes made by Sorolla, several of which are now housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In 2007 many of his works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, alongside those of John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner. In 2009, there was a special exhibition of his works at the Prado in Madrid, and in 2010, the exhibition visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil.

From 5 December 2011 to 10 March 2012, several of Sorolla's works were exhibited in Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, in New York. This exhibition included pieces used during Sorolla's eight-year research for The Vision of Spain.

An exhibition titled Sorolla & America explored Sorolla’s unique relationship with the United States in the early twentieth century. The exhibition opened at the Meadows Museum at SMU in Dallas (13 December 2013 - 19 April 2014). From there it traveled to the San Diego Museum of Art (30 May - 26 August 2014) and then to Fundaciun MAPFRE in Madrid (23 September 2014 - 11 January 2015).

The Spanish National Dance Company honored the painter's The Vision of Spain by producing a ballet Sorolla based on the paintings

Early in 1911, Sorolla visited the United States for a second time, and exhibited 152 new paintings at the Saint Louis Art Museum and 161 at the Art Institute of Chicago a few weeks later. Later that year Sorolla met Archie Huntington in Paris and signed a contract to paint a series of oils on life in Spain. These 14 magnificent murals, installed to this day in the Hispanic Society of America building in Manhattan, range from 12 to 14 feet in height, and total 227 feet in length.The major commission of his career, it would dominate the later years of Sorolla's life.

Huntington had envisioned the work depicting a history of Spain, but the painter preferred the less specific 'Vision of Spain', eventually opting for a representation of the regions of the Iberian Peninsula, and calling it The Provinces of Spain. Despite the immensity of the canvases, Sorolla painted all but one en plein air, and travelled to the specific locales to paint them: Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Elche, Seville, Andalusia, Extremadura, Galicia, Guipuzcoa, Castile, Leon, and Ayamonte, at each site painting models posed in local costume. Each mural celebrated the landscape and culture of its region, panoramas composed of throngs of laborers and locals. By 1917 he was, by his own admission, exhausted. He completed the final panel by July 1919.

Sorolla suffered a stroke in 1920, while painting a portrait in his garden in Madrid. Paralyzed for over three years, he died on 10 August 1923. He is buried in the Cementeri de Valencia, Spain. The Sorolla Room, housing the Provinces of Spain at the Hispanic Society of America, opened to the public in 1926. The room closed for remodeling in 2008, and the murals toured museums in Spain for the first time. The Sorolla Room reopened in 2010, with the murals on permanent display.

PENA OROEL PAINTED BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923)

 Peña Oroel (1,769 m - 5, 803 ft) 

Spain 

The mountain 
Peña Oroel ((1,769 m - 5, 803 ft)  is a mountain located in Huesca (Spain), near the town of Jaca, in the chain of spanish Pyrenees. Not very high, his great personality makes it visible throughout the city of Jaca and surroundings. Its summit is only 5.5 km as the crow flies from the center of Jaca.
This mountain is part of a cluster of rocks located between the Pre-Pyrenees (Partacua range) and Guara separating  the middle basin of Aragon by the Gállego river.
Many legends on this mountain. One attributes the beginning of the Reconquest of Aragon by Isabella The Catholic when a fire have appeared at the top of the Peña Oroel, giving a mysterious fighting starting signal.  Another legend claims that Pena Oroel hides in its entrails a gold mine or a treasure, which of course was never found. This willingly described as Magic Mountain is part of a triangle that encompasses peaks located in San Adrián de Sasabe and San Juan de la Peña.
The ascent of the Pena Orcel is made easy by the fact that the base of the north face located at 1,200 m (El Parador) can be reached by car. There are only 9 km,  by four wheels vehicle, between Jaca and the  base of the South face. The North face is made of a brown stone wall with a steep slope covered with lush pine forest dominated by spruce in its top layer.

The painter 
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida  was a Spanish painter.  Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land.

Sorolla's influence on some other Spanish painters, such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres, was so noted that they are described as "sorollista."

After his death, Sorolla's widow, Clotilde Garcia del Castillo, left many of his paintings to the Spanish public. The paintings eventually formed the collection that is now known as the Museo Sorolla, which was the artist's house in Madrid. The museum opened in 1932.

Sorolla's work is represented in museums throughout Spain, Europe, America, and in many private collections in Europe and America. In 1933, J. Paul Getty purchased ten Impressionist beach scenes made by Sorolla, several of which are now housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In 2007 many of his works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, alongside those of John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner. In 2009, there was a special exhibition of his works at the Prado in Madrid, and in 2010, the exhibition visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil.

From 5 December 2011 to 10 March 2012, several of Sorolla's works were exhibited in Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, in New York. This exhibition included pieces used during Sorolla's eight-year research for The Vision of Spain.

An exhibition titled Sorolla & America explored Sorolla’s unique relationship with the United States in the early twentieth century. The exhibition opened at the Meadows Museum at SMU in Dallas (13 December 2013 - 19 April 2014). From there it traveled to the San Diego Museum of Art (30 May - 26 August 2014) and then to Fundaciun MAPFRE in Madrid (23 September 2014 - 11 January 2015).

The Spanish National Dance Company honored the painter's The Vision of Spain by producing a ballet Sorolla based on the paintings

Early in 1911, Sorolla visited the United States for a second time, and exhibited 152 new paintings at the Saint Louis Art Museum and 161 at the Art Institute of Chicago a few weeks later. Later that year Sorolla met Archie Huntington in Paris and signed a contract to paint a series of oils on life in Spain. These 14 magnificent murals, installed to this day in the Hispanic Society of America building in Manhattan, range from 12 to 14 feet in height, and total 227 feet in length.The major commission of his career, it would dominate the later years of Sorolla's life.

Huntington had envisioned the work depicting a history of Spain, but the painter preferred the less specific 'Vision of Spain', eventually opting for a representation of the regions of the Iberian Peninsula, and calling it The Provinces of Spain. Despite the immensity of the canvases, Sorolla painted all but one en plein air, and travelled to the specific locales to paint them: Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Elche, Seville, Andalusia, Extremadura, Galicia, Guipuzcoa, Castile, Leon, and Ayamonte, at each site painting models posed in local costume. Each mural celebrated the landscape and culture of its region, panoramas composed of throngs of laborers and locals. By 1917 he was, by his own admission, exhausted. He completed the final panel by July 1919.

Sorolla suffered a stroke in 1920, while painting a portrait in his garden in Madrid. Paralyzed for over three years, he died on 10 August 1923. He is buried in the Cementeri de Valencia, Spain.

The Sorolla Room, housing the Provinces of Spain at the Hispanic Society of America, opened to the public in 1926. The room closed for remodeling in 2008, and the murals toured museums in Spain for the first time. The Sorolla Room reopened in 2010, with the murals on permanent display.

KILAUEA PAINTED BY AMBROSE PATTERSON

AMBROSE MC CARTHY PATTERSON (1877-1966) 

Mount Kilauea  (1,247 m - 4,091 ft) 

United States of America (Hawaï)  

In Mount Kilauea,  the house of Everlasting Fire, 1917 oil on canvas, Honolulu Museum of Art  

The mountain 
Kilauea (1,247 m - 4,091 ft) is a currently active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaiʻi. Located along the southern shore of the island, the volcano is between 300,000 and 600,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. It is the second youngest product of the Hawaiian hotspot and the current eruptive center of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. Because it lacks topographic prominence and its activities historically coincided with those of Mauna Loa, Kīlauea was once thought to be a satellite of its much larger neighbor. Structurally, Kīlauea has a large, fairly recently formed caldera at its summit and two active rift zones, one extending 125 km (78 mi) east and the other 35 km (22 mi) west, as an active fault of unknown depth moving vertically an average of 2 to 20 mm (0.1 to 0.8 in) per year.
Kīlauea's eruptive history has been a long and active one; its name means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The earliest lavas from the volcano date back to its submarine preshield stage, samples having been recovered by remotely operated underwater vehicles from its submerged slopes; samples of other flows have been recovered as core samples. Lavas younger than 1,000 years cover 90 percent of the volcano's surface. The oldest exposed lavas date back 2,800 years. The first well-documented eruption of Kīlauea occurred in 1823 (Western contact and written history began in 1778), and since that time the volcano has erupted repeatedly. Most historical eruptions have occurred at the volcano's summit or its eastern rift zone, and are prolonged and effusive in character. The geological record shows, however, that violent explosive activity predating European contact was extremely common, and in 1790 one such eruption killed over 80 warriors; should explosive activity start anew the volcano would become much more of a danger to humans. Kīlauea's current eruption dates back to January 3, 1983, and is by far its longest-duration historical period of activity, as well as one of the longest-duration eruptions in the world; as of January 2011, the eruption has produced 3.5 km3 (1 cu mi) of lava and resurfaced 123.2 km2 (48 sq mi) of land.
Kīlauea's high state of activity has a major impact on its mountainside ecology where plant growth is often interrupted by fresh tephra and drifting volcanic sulfur dioxide, producing acid rains particularly in a barren area south of its southwestern rift zone known as the Kaʻū Desert. Nonetheless, wildlife flourishes where left undisturbed elsewhere on the volcano and is highly endemic thanks to Kīlauea's (and the island of Hawaiʻi's) isolation from the nearest landmass. Historically, the five volcanoes on the island were considered sacred by the Hawaiian people, and in Hawaiian mythology Kīlauea's Halemaumau Crater served as the body and home of Pele, goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes. William Ellis, a missionary from England, gave the first modern account of Kīlauea and spent two weeks traveling along the volcano; since its foundation by Thomas Jaggar in 1912, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, located on the rim of Kilauea caldera, has served as the principal investigative and scientific body on the volcano and the island in general. In 1916 a bill forming the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson; since then the park has become a World Heritage Site and a major tourist destination, attracting roughly 2.6 million people annually.

The painter 
Ambrose McCarthy Patterson  was a painter and printmaker, born in Daylesford, Victoria (Australia). He studied at the Melbourne Art School under E. Phillips Fox and Tudor St George Tucker, at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne and continued his studies in Paris at the Académie Colarossi and the Académie Julian under Lucien Simon, André Lhote and Maxime Maufra. In Paris he became a friend of compatriot Nellie Melba, the famous soprano; Patterson's brother, Tom, was married to Melba's sister, Belle. Through Melba's influence, he was able to continue his studies with John Singer Sargent. He became part of the Paris arts scene and exhibited at the first Salon d'Automne exhibitions. He had five paintings at the 1905 Paris Salon at which Henri Matisse and the fauves stunned the art world.
He arrived in Hawaii in 1916 on a stopover from Sidney to New York, and decided to stay with a Parisian friend living in Honolulu. During the next 18 months, Patterson made block prints and paintings with particular interest in Kilauea. His art was included in the Hawaiian Society of Artists Annual in 1917. He left for California in 1918 and settled in Seattle. At the 1918 Spring Annual of the San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) his wood block prints were said to be "especially fine in color." That summer his art was given a one-man exhibition at the SFAA galleries and he contributed three color prints (The Steeple Chase, The Bull Fight, and The Long Beach) to the Seventh Annual of the California Society of Etchers.
By September 1918 Patterson had moved to Seattle to work as a freelance artist, perhaps being the first modern artist in that city, and that fall his art was given a solo show at the Seattle Fine Arts Society, the first of many exhibitions in Washington State. In 1919 he established the University of Washington School of Painting and Design. Patterson married painter and former student Viola Hansen in 1922, and the two became major figures of the arts in the Pacific Northwest region. Patterson taught until his retirement in 1947. He died in Seattle in 1966 leaving behind an impressive record of awards received and exhibitions across the United States, including the: Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the World’s Fairs in San Francisco and New York City.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), the Honolulu Museum of Art, the National Portrait Gallery (Australia) (Canberra), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum are among the public collections holding works by Ambrose McCarthy Patterson.

PEÑALARA PAINTED BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923)

Peñalara (2,428 m -7,966 ft)  

Spain

 In Vista del Torneo, El Pardo y la Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, oil on canvas, 

Museo Sorolla Madrid

The Mountain

In this painting one can see a panoramic of a part of El Pardo, in the first term and in the background, the Sierra de Guadarrama and its highest peak the Peñalara, half covered by snow.

El Pardo is located in the northern suburb of Madrid, close to the Manzanares river. Part of its area is covered by a forest named Monte de El Pardo (El Pardo Mountain). The ward contains a neighbourhood called Mingorrubio.  The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madrid. One of the most notable buildings is the Royal Palace of El Pardo, built in 1406 by the order of King Henry III of Castile. It was the first large edifice built in the area.
The Peñalara (2,428 m -7,966 ft)  is the highest peak of the Sierra de Guadarrama,  a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula.  The range runs southwest—northeast, extending from the province of Ávila in the southwest, through the Community of Madrid, to the province of Segovia in the northeast. The range measures approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) in length.  The mountain range's proximity to Madrid means it can get crowded with visitors. The range is crossed by numerous roads and railway routes. It has a highly developed tourism infrastructure, coupled with provisions for various mountain sports. This poses a threat to the fragile environment and habitats of the mountains.
The others peaks of the Sierra de Guadarama range are: Bola del Mundo (2,265 m, 7,431 ft),
Cabezas de Hierro (2,383 m, 7,818 ft), Dos Hermanas (2,285 m, 7,496 ft), Flecha (2,078 m, 6,807 ft), La Maliciosa (2,227 m, 7,306 ft), La Najarra (2,108 m, 6,916 ft), El Nevero (2,209 m, 7,227 ft),
Pandasco (2,238 m, 7,342 ft), Peña del Águila (2,010 m, 6,594 ft), La Peñota (1,945 m, 6,381 ft)
Risco de los Claveles (2,387 m, 7,831 ft), Risco de los Pájaros (2,334 m, 7,657 ft), Siete Picos (2,138 m, 7,014 ft), Montón de Trigo (2,161 m, 7,089 ft), Cerro de Valdemartín (2,280 m, 7,480 ft), Monte Abantos (1,753 m, 5,751 ft) and   El Yelmo (1,717 m, 5,633 ft).
The flora of the Sierra de Guadarrama is characterized in the higher elevation Atlantic vegetation region with Juniper groves, montane grasslands, Spanish broom thickets, pine forests, and Pyrenean Oaks forests; and in the lower elevation Mediterranean vegetation region by Holm oak forests. while the pastures around the summits are fringed by juniper and Spanish broom shrubs.

The painter 
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter.  Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land.

Sorolla's influence on some other Spanish painters, such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres, was so noted that they are described as "sorollista."

After his death, Sorolla's widow, Clotilde Garcia del Castillo, left many of his paintings to the Spanish public. The paintings eventually formed the collection that is now known as the Museo Sorolla, which was the artist's house in Madrid. The museum opened in 1932.

Sorolla's work is represented in museums throughout Spain, Europe, America, and in many private collections in Europe and America. In 1933, J. Paul Getty purchased ten Impressionist beach scenes made by Sorolla, several of which are now housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In 2007 many of his works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, alongside those of John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner. In 2009, there was a special exhibition of his works at the Prado in Madrid, and in 2010, the exhibition visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil.

 - More about Joaquin Sorolla 

PEÑALARA BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923)

Peñalara (2,428 m - 7 966 ft) 

Spain  

 In  Tormenta sobre Penalara Segovia, oil on canvas  

The mountain 

Peñalara (2,428 m - 7 966 ft)  is the highest mountain peak, straddling the provinces of Madrid and Segovia, in the mountain range of Guadarrama, a subsection of Spain's larger Sistema Central mountain chain which lies at the center and divides the Iberian Peninsula. A possible origin for the name Peñalara is, Pen or Ben (as in Ben Nevis, mountain in Scotland) and Allah (ancient name for the Moon ) and Ra (ancient name for the Sun). It is The mountain of the Moon and the Sun. Consequently, it is one of the most emblematic and important peaks of the Guadarramas.

The eastern section of the mountain lies in the municipality of Rascafría in the province of Madrid, belonging to the Valle of Lozoya, and its western section is located in the Valle of Valsaín in the province of Segovia. The peak's summit is a designated natural park known as the Parque Natural de Peñalara, which features several small lakes and some steep escarpments.

The outline of Peñalara is rounded, displaying few underhangs. The hillsides of this mountain are covered with different types of vegetation, depending on the elevation. 

The painter 
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter.  Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land.

Sorolla's influence on some other Spanish painters, such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres, was so noted that they are described as "sorollista."

After his death, Sorolla's widow, Clotilde Garcia del Castillo, left many of his paintings to the Spanish public. The paintings eventually formed the collection that is now known as the Museo Sorolla, which was the artist's house in Madrid. The museum opened in 1932.

Sorolla's work is represented in museums throughout Spain, Europe, America, and in many private collections in Europe and America. In 1933, J. Paul Getty purchased ten Impressionist beach scenes made by Sorolla, several of which are now housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In 2007 many of his works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, alongside those of John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner. In 2009, there was a special exhibition of his works at the Prado in Madrid, and in 2010, the exhibition visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil.

CERRO DEL CABALLO PAINTED BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923)

Cerro del Cabalo (3,051m  -10, 010 ft) 

Spain (Andalusia)

The mountain 

Cerro del Caballo  (3,051m  -10, 010 ft) or  Pico del Caballo or simply Caballo ("horse") is a mountain in the Sierra Nevada, Spain. It is the westernmost three thousander of the range. Cerro del Caballo offers great views on the neighbouring mountains like : Veleta, Mulhacen and Alcazaba. The ridge starting from Caballo continues several km almost at the same altitude turning at the Tajos de la Virgen mountain ( 3,237 m). The ridge has become very popular during the recent years, as it provides an easy walk and scramble during summer months. From Tajos de la Virgen the ridge turns towards south west ending at the south side of the Caballo mountain and making a big Y letter. The highest peak on the southern ridge is Tajo de los Machos (3,088m). At the middle of the two ridges starts the river Rio Lanjaron, 400 m lower. Rio Lanjaron flows several km down towards the town of Lanjaron. There is also a few lakes in this wide mountain valley.

Caballo mountain can be accessed from the towns of Lanjaron, Durcal and also from the Sierra Nevada Ski Resort. The Ski Resort is located at Pradollano, also the north west flank of the Veleta mountain. There is a hut at the east side of the mountain at 2800 m altitude. The hut covers eight people and can be used all year around. It belongs into category of bivouac, which means it is built to give protection only. Huts like Poqueira hut are guarded and usually provide meals and heating. Other hut which can be used is the Elorrieta hut on the top of the Tajos de la Virgen mountain. Nearest water taking place is the river Rio Lanjaron at the south side of the mountain. There is also tiny rivers on the west side of the mountain at 2500 m altitude. These seasonal rivers can be difficult to find sometimes. During the winter months Sierra Nevada mountains have Alpine conditions, even there is not much glacier to be met anymore. Ice axe and crampons are essential.

The painter 
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida  was a Spanish painter.  Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land.

Sorolla's influence on some other Spanish painters, such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres, was so noted that they are described as "sorollista."

After his death, Sorolla's widow, Clotilde Garcia del Castillo, left many of his paintings to the Spanish public. The paintings eventually formed the collection that is now known as the Museo Sorolla, which was the artist's house in Madrid. The museum opened in 1932.

Sorolla's work is represented in museums throughout Spain, Europe, America, and in many private collections in Europe and America. In 1933, J. Paul Getty purchased ten Impressionist beach scenes made by Sorolla, several of which are now housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum.

In 2007 many of his works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, alongside those of John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner. In 2009, there was a special exhibition of his works at the Prado in Madrid, and in 2010, the exhibition visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil.

From 5 December 2011 to 10 March 2012, several of Sorolla's works were exhibited in Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, in New York. This exhibition included pieces used during Sorolla's eight-year research for The Vision of Spain.

An exhibition titled Sorolla & America explored Sorolla’s unique relationship with the United States in the early twentieth century. The exhibition opened at the Meadows Museum at SMU in Dallas (13 December 2013 - 19 April 2014). From there it traveled to the San Diego Museum of Art (30 May - 26 August 2014) and then to Fundaciun MAPFRE in Madrid (23 September 2014 - 11 January 2015).

The Spanish National Dance Company honored the painter's The Vision of Spain by producing a ballet Sorolla based on the paintings

Early in 1911, Sorolla visited the United States for a second time, and exhibited 152 new paintings at the Saint Louis Art Museum and 161 at the Art Institute of Chicago a few weeks later. Later that year Sorolla met Archie Huntington in Paris and signed a contract to paint a series of oils on life in Spain. These 14 magnificent murals, installed to this day in the Hispanic Society of America building in Manhattan, range from 12 to 14 feet in height, and total 227 feet in length.The major commission of his career, it would dominate the later years of Sorolla's life.

Huntington had envisioned the work depicting a history of Spain, but the painter preferred the less specific 'Vision of Spain', eventually opting for a representation of the regions of the Iberian Peninsula, and calling it The Provinces of Spain. Despite the immensity of the canvases, Sorolla painted all but one en plein air, and travelled to the specific locales to paint them: Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Elche, Seville, Andalusia, Extremadura, Galicia, Guipuzcoa, Castile, Leon, and Ayamonte, at each site painting models posed in local costume. Each mural celebrated the landscape and culture of its region, panoramas composed of throngs of laborers and locals. By 1917 he was, by his own admission, exhausted. He completed the final panel by July 1919.

Sorolla suffered a stroke in 1920, while painting a portrait in his garden in Madrid. Paralyzed for over three years, he died on 10 August 1923. He is buried in the Cementeri de Valencia, Spain.

The Sorolla Room, housing the Provinces of Spain at the Hispanic Society of America, opened to the public in 1926. The room closed for remodeling in 2008, and the murals toured museums in Spain for the first time. The Sorolla Room reopened in 2010, with the murals on permanent display.