ROCHETTE

JEAN-MARC ROCHETTE Le Couloir, original illustration created in 2023, accompanied by with its preparatory stage in India ink and wash. Signed. Watercolor, India ink and pastel highlights on paper 60.8 × 45.8 cm (23.94 × 18.03 in.) Preparatory stage: 44.6 × 30.4 cm On the south face of the Meije, the roped party progresses foot by foot. The steep, snow-covered wall is all the more impressive for the fact that the picture is taken from above. In the background, the magnificent view of the Pavé and Gaspard peaks further accentuates the effect of altitude and depth. Rochette's inspiration for this image came from his first ascents with his friend Sempé, recounted in Ailefroide, the first opus in his mountain trilogy. In this image, contrary to my usual practice, I allowed myself some alpine poetic license. I imagined a wall of snow that doesn't exist - or at least not so imposingly - in this location. I accentuated the mass to emphasize the slope, the sense of gravity. When you climb on snow, you can't secure yourself, you can't tie yourself down; there are no pitons, no ice pins, nothing holds! If you fall, it's all over, so everyone is extremely precise and focused. J.-M.R.