MOUNTAIN PAINTINGS

The mountains have always had a very strong fascination and appeal on man. It is no coincidence that in many cultures the mountain is a sacred place, the “home” of the divinities, just think of Olympus.

In fact, only a divinity could inhabit such a dangerous place, inhabited by wild animals, with land impossible to cultivate and a harsh climate for many months of the year, but at the same time rich in landscapes of unparalleled beauty, capable of arousing in those he looks at them with amazement and admiration.

For centuries the mountains remained frequented only by those who were born there, with great efforts and physical fatigue to be able to live, or by those who sought refuge because life in society was no longer possible for them.

The Naturalists and the Mountain

With the appearance of the Naturalists, and their study trips, in the 18th century, the mountains also began to attract people who came from the cities, scholars who showed great enthusiasm for waterfalls, streams, gorges, valleys and valleys, lakes, glaciers. And with them the first mountaineers, daredevil men who challenged nature to reach the longed-for peaks. Given the means of the time, these people preferred the summer period for their mountain activities.

In the 19th century, the therapeutic qualities of the mountains were discovered: the fresh air, the crisp climate, the pure water of the streams, the whey, all these elements were used as cures for respiratory diseases, for example, and people wealthy people used to stay in the Alps for their health.

Towards the end of the century, thanks to the improvement of means of transport, the desire to travel spread across Europe, to visit the mountains until then only seen in illustrations, and to practice winter sports, skating and skiing in particular.

From luxury therapeutic travel to mass tourism, the mountains became an ideal place to spend holidays, both summer and winter. Between the two world wars, the passion for snow spread more and more among ordinary people, spreading from the Second World War to the present day.

In this context there is a growing demand for canvases that portray the peaks, and the painters, with palette and canvas, are enchanted by the majesty of the rocks, by the sweetness of the villages built with stone and wood, by the calm infused by the hushed woods in a freezing winter morning, when the snow that fell the previous night makes the atmosphere magical, and again by the “enrosadira”, the phenomenon that makes the Dolomites pink at sunset.