Breathtaking panorama of the high mountains of the Ecrins National Park in the French Alps. Dominating the horizon, the Dôme de neige des Écrins and the Barre des Écrins are the most westerly summits 4000-meter peaks in the Alps. At 4101 metres, the Barre is the highest peak on Ecrins massif. As for the Dôme de neige, it is renowned for being a very easy mountaineering route. But with changing weather conditions, the crevasses in its glaciers are opening up, and hikers now heading for summit are exposed to falling seracs. More experienced mountaineers can traverse from the Dôme to summit de la Barre des Écrins.

I waited ten years to take this impressive panoramic photograph. Before nature agreed to offer me this spectacle. I took this photograph when summits had just weathered a spring storm. The first rays of sunlight illuminated the mountain, freshly adorned with snow. The moment lasted only a few seconds. The clouds parted, barely allowing the mountain to breathe before closing in on it again.

With this work, I wanted to take you on a journey to the heart of the high-mountain realm. The painting's dramatic intensity stirs our emotions. The softness of the contrasts sublimates the strength of summits. In the foreground, Pic de la Grande Ruine and Pic Bourcet endow the photograph with a celestial depth. They highlight the exceptional scale of the Dôme de neige des Écrins and the Barre des Écrins. Purity and grandeur, that's what I want to convey about the high mountains. In this photograph, I share with you my vision of the kingdom above. A synergy of snow-capped mountains, suspended seracs, tapering ridges and sharp peaks. A world of rock and ice carried by the interplay of clouds and light. The very essence of my art.