François Diday’s Le glacier du Rosenlaui is as realistic in its topography (centred on the summit of the Wetterhorn) as it is romantic in its aesthetic (guided by the thrill of the sublime). Diday successfully exhibited the work at the 1841 Paris Salon, where the judges were especially interested in pieces reflecting the particularities of regional schools. The Canton of Vaud immediately reserved the painting for the Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts. The following year, Diday won a gold medal and was awarded the Légion d’honneur for his painting of Lake Brienz.
In the background, the glacier – made almost inaccessible by the rugged natural landscape and the threatening storm – is depicted in the solemn chiaroscuro style typical of the classical landscape. Diday’s monumental paintings, based on in-situ observations, unfold like Alpine theatre sets, his subjects depicted under menacing skies complete with towering peaks, uprooted trees, rushing torrents and tiny figures.

François Diday (1802–1877, born and died in Geneva) trained at the Geneva Arts Society school and continued his education in Paris at the studio of Antoine-Jean Gros. In around 1830, he opened his own studio in Geneva, taught young painters (including Alexandre Calame, his friend and rival), and devoted himself to romantic interpretations of the Swiss Alpine landscape, becoming the undisputed European leader in his niche.

View of the exhibition room, © MCBA, Jonas Hänggi

François Diday, The Rosenlaui Glacier, 1841. Oil on canvas, 200 × 259 cm. Acquisition, 1842 © Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne