James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 )

JAMES HART DYKE
MONT BLANC: The Summit Paintings

27th September – 8th October 2023
Cromwell Place
London SW7

In July 2022, James Hart Dyke climbed Mont Blanc via its rarely attempted north face to paint from the summit at sunset. As the leading mountain painter of his generation, Hart Dyke was accompanied by a retinue of guides, a cameraman and climbers as he ascended the Grands Mulets Route. This is a variation of the original one, l’ancien passage, taken by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel Paccard in 1786 on the historic first ascent of Mont Blanc.

James Hart Dyke’s objective was to re-enact and emulate as closely as possible the conditions under which the French painter of the Alps, Gabriel Loppé (1825-1913) made his pair of summit paintings at sunset in August 1873 in the company of Leslie Stephen.

Thanks to a weather window and judicious planning James was also able to spend nearly two hours on the summit from 8.15 pm to past 10 o’clock and paint two pictures in situ. Although there was only a slight breeze, the temperature was between -15 and -20 Celsius.

As an authority on Gabriel Loppé, a climber himself and a scholar of painters working in the Alps, William Mitchell of John Mitchell Fine Paintings took nearly two years to plan the ascent. Going on foot from the steps of Loppé’s former home in Chamonix and coming down four days later, William wanted to follow as accurately as possible the route which Gabriel Loppé took himself. Due to the dramatic reduction in the volume of the glaciers since the 19th century, the route is now heavily crevassed which made for a very challenging ascent. As always in mountaineering, the descent was far more engaging, especially undertaking it at night in this instance.

Entitled James Hart Dyke MONT BLANC: The Summit Paintings, the exhibition at Cromwell Place will show around thirty to forty paintings and sketches from the adventure, including ones made during the climb itself, and will unveil the all-important summit views. These pictures will hang alongside a summit painting made by Gabriel Loppé 150 years ago at the same time of day.

All the painitngs in the exhibition will be available to view online and at Cromwell Place from 11am on Wednesday 27th September. All paintings are for sale, please contact James Astley Birtwistle (jamesb@johnmitchell.net) for enquiries.

A beautifully produced 120 page catalogue accompanies the exhibition and is available to purchase from the 'catalogues' section of our website and at the exhibition.

James Hart Dyke MONT BLANC: The Summit Paintings
Wednesday 27th September - Sunday 8th October 2023

Cromwell Place
4 Cromwell Place
South Kensington
SW7 2JE

Opening hours:
Wednesday 27th, 11:00 - 18:00
Thursday 28th, 11:00 - 19:00
Friday 29th, 11:00 - 19:00
Saturday 30th, 11:00 - 19:00
Sunday 1st, 11:00 - 16:00
Monday 2nd, closed
Tuesday 3rd, 11:00 - 19:00
Wednesday 4th, 11:00 - 19:00
Thursday 5th, 11:00 - 19:00
Friday 6th, 11:00 - 19:00
Saturday 7th, 11:00 - 19:00
Sunday 8th, 11:00 - 16:00

James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit 1 (shadow)
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit 2 (sunset)
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The natural way of the heart is upwards. Mont Blanc
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Chamonix from the Arête des Bosses
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Arête des Bosses from the summit of Mont Blanc - small
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Glaciers above the Grands Mulets
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Way
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) ‘Transfiguration’ or last light on the Aiguille du Midi
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Chamonix from the Arête des Bosses - version 3
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Grand Plateau - plein air study
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Light blast in purple. Sunrise from the Grands Mulets Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Torino Hut panorama
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Petites Montées - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Snow flanks on Mont Blanc
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit lines
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Study from Torino Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit panorama: sunset version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit panorama: dusk version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Rapid study: Grands Mulets
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Grands Mulets Hut. End of day
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Grands Mulets Hut. Early morning
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) First light from Grands Mulets - plein air study
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Last light on Aiguille du Midi - plein air study
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Early start: painting from the Dôme de Pitschner
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Melting glacier
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Evening study from the Grands Mulets Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Plein air study above Grands Mulets
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) View from the Grands Mulets Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Barre des Ecrins, September 2021
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Mont Blanc as seen from the Torino Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Sunset study from the Grands Mulets Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Panorama with summits from the Torino Hut
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Study of ice and rock
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Panorama 1 from the summit
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Panorama 2 from the summit
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Bossons Glacier to the summit - version 4
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Above the Combe Glacier
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Dying glacier: Death mask
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Last light on Mont Blanc from la Flégère - version 3
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Head of the Combe Glacier - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Seracs approaching the Grand Plateau
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Ice fields below the Dôme du Goûter
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Drop off
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Head of the Combe Glacier
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Transfiguration or Aiguille du Midi version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Above the Grands Mulets
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Sunset at the Grands Mulets
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Grandes Jorasses
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Arête des Bosses from the summit of Mont Blanc - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Val d'Aosta at sunset
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit with falling light - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Petites Montées
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit: dusk version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit: falling light version 4
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Bossons Glacier to the summit - version 3
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Bossons Glacier to the summit - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Mont Blanc - north side
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Cosmic / Mont Blanc
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Bossons Glacier to the summit
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Above the Aiguille du Midi
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Last light on Mont Blanc from la Flégère - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit shadows: Mont Blanc
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Serac field
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Petites Montées in midday heat
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Grandes Jorasses
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Chamonix from the Arête des Bosses - version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Dreamworld. The summit of Mont Blanc on grey, version 2
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Mont Blanc’s south side from the Val Veny, Courmayeur
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Ancien Passage
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Labyrinth (Combe Glacier)
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit: dusk
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit: falling light - version 3
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The Aiguille Verte and the Glacier du Géant
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Mont Blanc from la Flégère
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit light: view towards Geneva
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Up above 4,000 metres
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Mont Blanc - on the summit ridge
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Val d’Aosta from the summit
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit at dusk
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Summit with falling light
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Last light on the summit: the Grandes Jorasses
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Flow: seracs above the Combe Glacier
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) ‘Transfiguration’, the Aiguille du Midi at sunset
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Last light on Mont Blanc from la Flégère
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) The heart is drawn upwards. Bossons Glacier to the summit
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Chamonix from the Arête des Bosses
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Dreamworld. The Arête des Bosses from the summit of Mont Blanc on grey
James Hart Dyke ( b.1966 ) Gabriel Loppé