MONT BLANC: The Summit Paintings

In July 2022, James Hart Dyke climbed Mont Blanc via its rarely attempted north face to paint from the summit at sunset. 

A leading mountain painter, James was joined by guides, a cameraman and climbers as he climbed the Grands Mulets Route. 

This is a variation of l’ancien passage taken by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel Paccard in 1786 on the first ascent of Mont Blanc. 

James wanted to recreate the conditions under which French painter of the Alps, Gabriel Loppé painted a pair of summit paintings at sunset in August 1873 James was able to spend nearly two hours on the summit and paint two pictures, at temperature between -15 and -20 Celsius. 

The Summit Paintings 

The Summit Paintings, at Cromwell Place, London from 27 September to 8 October 2023 will show 40 paintings and sketches from the adventure, including ones made during the climb itself. 

These pictures will hang alongside the two painted by Gabriel Loppé 150 years ago at exactly the same time of day. 

 www.cromwellplace.com 

 Tracy Jones at tracy@brera-london.com