Photographic exhibition ‘ICE and GLACIERS, the footprint of mankind’

The Musée de la Pente association is presenting a new exhibition at the Isidore farm in Combloux for summer 2026 on the theme of ‘Ice and glaciers, the mark of mankind’. The perspective of Pascal Tournaire, author and photographer, is juxtaposed with the glaciers of Gabriel Loppé, the first mountaineering painter and photographer (1825-1913). This exceptional exhibition aims to ‘place man at the heart of his environment’ and to bring together the perspectives of these two artists on ice and glaciers between the 19th and 21st centuries. The exhibition, which is suitable for all audiences, is divided into four themes: Room 1: the step-by-step ascent of Mont Blanc (in 1873 and 2022) Room 2: Beneath the ice: ‘Glaciers are alive’ Room 3: Above the ice and its many footprints Room 4: The retreat of glaciers, sentinels of the Alps in the face of climate change (with a photographic overview of the Arctic, Pascal Tournaire expedition). Gabriel Loppé ‘The landscape is nothing more than the intense sensation experienced by the artist; the subject is nothing without the painter's personal feelings...’ (Letter from Gabriel Loppé in 1868) An experienced mountaineer, landscape painter and photographer, Gabriel Loppé depicts Alpine peaks, giant glaciers, menacing seracs and gaping crevasses, sharing with us his feelings about the mountains. Born in 1825, Gabriel Loppé grew up in Paris. At the age of 16, he discovered the mountains and decided to become a landscape painter. In 1846, he studied painting in Switzerland, which gave him the opportunity to go on his first glacier hike, a revelation. Mountaineering and painting would forever be part of his life. In 1853, Loppé discovered Chamonix and built a studio and exhibition gallery. He would return there every year throughout his career. Loppé made numerous ascents of Mont Blanc, a complicated undertaking at the time. This mountain range was his kingdom, and he always took his drawing and painting materials with him so he could work on site. In 1887, at the age of 62, he bought his first camera, a new passion, but continued to paint. He died in Paris in 1913. Pascal Tournaire A journalist specialising in mountains for 40 years, graphic designer, photographer, artist... His curiosity has taken him from the highest peaks on earth (Seven Summit Challenge in 1992) to the driest desert (expedition with Théodore Monod in the Libyan Desert). The rigour and sensitivity of his photographic approach also enable him to showcase the architecture of Jean-Michel Wilmotte and the landscape architects Jean Mus and Gilles Clément. His familiarity with verticality has allowed him to follow numerous spectacular construction projects such as Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower, as well as many EDF hydraulic sites on dams and penstocks. Witnessing the climatic upheavals affecting the Mont Blanc massif at the foot of which he lives, Pascal often finds himself following in the footsteps of the painter Gabriel Loppé, whose works he has reproduced many times. His sensitivity often echoes that of the painter in their fascination with the glacial environment and its excesses.