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The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘On a peak under a blue sky': the joy of summer in Europe's mountains
After a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn't be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky. Mountains were not always seen as appropriate places to relax on a summer's day. Those lofty, mist-wreathed realms held surprises, most of them nasty, such as trolls and demons. Maybe a few ancient folk knew perfectly well that mountains in summer were wonderful, but they weren't the sort to publicise the fact: the solitary shepherd, gold prospectors not yet consumed by gold fever, and the workers who put up drystone walls – they all must have known the joy of lazing on a summit, perhaps seeing shapes in clouds. Changing culture and taste took a revolution led by artists and poets, men such as Nicolas Poussin, who in the 17th century tried to win people over with paintings of mysterious peaks and epic landscapes. Unfortunately, he couldn't resist adding a fallen Grecian column and a nymph draped in wispy stuff. It took another 150 years before the German artist Caspar David Friedrich relocated the wispy bits to the mountain tops, evicted the nymphs, and added one rugged poetic type, gazing out over the towering tors with a vaguely proprietorial air. His Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818, now in Hamburg at the Kunsthalle) remains the most evocative depiction of the romantic ideal. After that painting, summer in the mountains was de rigueur, but it turned out that Friedrich's sturdy 19th-century mountaineer was actually looking for a place to build a man-shed. All over the continent, wealthy romantics started funding simple dormitory accommodation, often precariously balanced on vertiginous crags. These mountain refuges were vital in allowing people to access the peaks, and became a huge part of my own enjoyment of the mountains. The first to be built was Refuge des Grands Mulets on Mont Blanc in 1853. There is still a hut there, rebuilt a couple of times, perched at 3,051 metres (10,009ft), overlooking the Bossons glacier. My own favourite, Rifugio Nuvolau, is a period classic in the Dolomites, built in 1883 and a haven of stout carpentry, hearty food and astonishing sunsets. Not all are antiques: Monte Rosa near Zermatt is an aluminium solar-powered box that sits above the Gorner glacier and requires ropes and crampons in order to reach it. Some huts are very high indeed: the Margherita on the Italian Monte Rosa is, at 4,554 metres, the highest building in Europe. Sweden's Låktatjåkko (1,228 metres) is both high in altitude and latitude: it's 155 miles (250km) inside the Arctic Circle and often buried in snow, even in summer. Digging to the front door is worth the effort: they serve fantastic waffles with cloudberry jam. The staff in these huts are usually charming and helpful. Not all guests, however, are so wonderful. 'There was one British visitor who, during the course of the night, pushed all the other sleepers along the dormitory bench,' complained one French guest after staying in Refuge de Ciottulu di i Mori in Corsica. 'He left a huge empty space behind him and we were all squashed up in one corner.' (I've no idea why I rolled like that. I was fast asleep.) Making a reservation in one of these treasures can require persistence. The famous ones are often booked out, but many of the huts I've mentioned have alternatives nearby. Where there are no mountain huts available, a tent is not always needed. In Romania's Carpathians, I've slept in hay ricks after jolly evenings drinking plum brandy with farmers. Sadly, the hay rick is disappearing as agriculture modernises, but the Carpathians remain a fine mountain destination. Once a local hunter persuaded me to go on a bear hunt (no guns involved). We climbed through shady pine forest and golden flower-sprinkled meadows to warm rock and vast vistas. The hunter described a recent incident when he was chased up a tree by a bear. He proved it by showing his rucksack, complete with claw marks. On our descent, we stumbled on a fresh bear track and, for a second, the idyllic evening was shot through by lightning bolts of adrenaline. An undeniable fact of mountain life is that moments of arcadian bliss can be abruptly ended. You go up in sun, and descend in a wild storm. The unpredictable must be expected. Helm Crag in the Lake District was a favourite of Romantic poet William Wordsworth and for that reason many go to commune with nature. One blustery lunchtime, I was sitting a little below the craggy summit about to enjoy a picnic when a group on the top suddenly flung their grandmother into the air. Caught by the wind, the old lady was whipped sideways and down, straight into the sandwich that was about to go in my mouth. Ash-scattering ceremonies really should be more careful. The ancestor went to her final resting place tainted with Branston pickle. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion British mountains aren't enlivened by European-style huts, but we do have bothies, camping barns, the Youth Hostels Association (YHA), and a number of good cottages for hire. To climb the Rhinogydd (often anglicised to Rhinogs), I based myself at the off-grid retreat of Garth Gell farm, all lovely hand-worn woodwork, flagstone floors and dusty books. The Rhinogydd are often touted as the most rugged mountain chain south of Hadrian's Wall, which is a bit hard on the North Pennines and Cheviots, but the paths are certainly steep and challenging, deterring many visitors. The chain stretches for about 13 miles, with the highest point at Y Llethr (756 metres) where the 360-degree panorama is really special. The view is, of course, a big part of the attraction. We go up because we can see further. My snooze on Rhinog Fach is interrupted by my companion. 'Look!' he says. The best summer mountain experiences always have that unexpected moment: the bear jumps out and claws your rucksack, human remains land in your picnic … that kind of thing. I sit up, suddenly alert. 'On the wall. Down there.' There's a bird, its pale chest striped with grey, its tail fanned out in annoyance as a horde of smaller birds are mobbing it. And then it calls. I have never considered the cuckoo to be a mountain bird, but there it is at 600 metres on a Welsh hill. And at the same time, away to the west, the haze lifts a little and the blue horizon puckers behind the last bit of Wales. The Blackstairs Mountains of Ireland have appeared. A summer's day in the mountains is complete. Accommodation was provided by Garth Gell, a Kip hideaway, which sleeps six from £240 a night
Mid East Info
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Mid East Info
The Department of Culture and Tourism Unveils the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection though a series of Exhibition-Dossiers
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates –April 2025: Over the past decades, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has developed the inspiring and comprehensive Abu Dhabi Collection, offering a global discourse of the world's artistic production. Bringing together spectacular artworks and artefacts from around the world and spanning prehistory to the present, the Collection further positions Abu Dhabi as a world-leading cultural centre engaged in the creation and sharing of research and knowledge. DCT Abu Dhabi continues to expand and enrich the Abu Dhabi Collection as a whole, as well as through the addition of artworks and artefacts which form the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection, a grouping of the most significant pieces within the Abu Dhabi Collection. Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection spans a plethora of art movements and genres of art history, adopts the best practices and ethics of collection management and fosters global conversations on the world's art scene. Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection signals Abu Dhabi's commitment to forging a cultural legacy of exceptional quality and significance and highlights the emirate's dedication to building a collection that communicates cross-cultural and universal narratives. The Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection affirms the dynamic cultural vision of Abu Dhabi while enhancing and complementing other collections in the emirate's museums and reflects a commitment to fostering pluralistic dialogues and promoting the exchange of knowledge in the arts. H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: 'Developing this comprehensive collection, featuring masterpieces from across the history of art, supports the growth of a vibrant cultural scene across Abu Dhabi and the wider region. Creativity holds immense power to drive education and social change, and offering access to such remarkable works is intrinsic to Abu Dhabi's cultural engagement, nurturing a cultural scene, and fostering strategic partnership and exchange opportunities with the world.' The DCT Abu Dhabi is presenting a selection of the Masterpieces Collection in a series of exhibition-dossiers, offering a way to understand the vision of the Collection and illustrating its principle to cover all techniques and periods of civilisations, from prehistory to present time. Three inspiring works that launched the series of exhibition-dossiers Organised at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, the inaugural exhibition-dossier showcased three remarkable works from the Masterpieces Collection: Confirmation by the 17th-century master Nicolas Poussin, Self-Portrait by the 20th-century artist Pierre Bonnard, and Triptyque 2000 – 23.12.2001 by the contemporary artist Zao Wou-Ki. Confirmation (ca. 1637–1640) by Nicolas Poussin is part of the artist's renowned Seven Sacraments series. This painting holds a central place in the history of Western art, created by an artist regarded as a pivotal figure in the history of art in general. Touching on both spiritual and social themes, the work's inclusion in the Masterpieces Collection aims to attract a new global audience and to inspire future generations. Self-Portrait (1939) by Pierre Bonnard is a key component of the artist's late series of self-portraits. In its depiction of an intimate and enclosed world, the painting creates a powerful emotional impact, standing as one of the most sensitive and deeply affecting self-portraits of its time. Triptyque 2000 – 23.12.2001, (2000-2001) by contemporary artist Zao Wou-Ki is an important work that highlights the expressive possibilities arising from the intersection of different cultural traditions and pictorial languages. Blending traditional Chinese aesthetics with Western modernist techniques, the triptych is a lyrical representation of nature that transcends visual perception. The first exhibition-dossier of the Masterpieces Collection immersed viewers in the unique creative universes of these three artists, showcasing works that represent the pinnacle of their artistic achievements.. As Abu Dhabi continues to innovate and invest in the arts, DCT Abu Dhabi remains dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and showcasing timeless works that will inspire future generations. New exhibition-dossiers from the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection will be unveiled over the coming months, offering further exciting opportunities for engagement and discovery.
Al Etihad
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Department of Culture and Tourism unveils Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection
19 Apr 2025 16:04 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has unveiled artworks and artefacts which form the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection, a grouping of the most significant pieces within the Abu Dhabi comprehensive Abu Dhabi Collection offers a global discourse of the world's artistic together artworks and artefacts from around the world and spanning prehistory to the present, the collection further elevates Abu Dhabi's status as a world-leading cultural centre engaged in the creation and sharing of research and Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection spans a plethora of art movements and genres of art history, adopts the best practices and ethics of collection management and fosters global conversations on the world's art Dhabi Masterpieces Collection signals Abu Dhabi's commitment to forging a cultural legacy of exceptional quality and significance and highlights the emirate's dedication to building a collection that communicates cross-cultural and universal narratives. The Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection affirms the dynamic cultural vision of Abu Dhabi while enhancing and complementing other collections in the emirate's museums and reflects a commitment to fostering pluralistic dialogues and promoting the exchange of knowledge in the Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "Developing this comprehensive collection, featuring masterpieces from across the history of art, supports the growth of a vibrant cultural scene across Abu Dhabi and the wider region. Creativity holds immense power to drive education and social change, and offering access to such remarkable works is intrinsic to Abu Dhabi's cultural engagement, nurturing a cultural scene, and fostering strategic partnership and exchange opportunities with the world.'DCT Abu Dhabi is presenting a selection of the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection in a series of exhibition-dossiers, offering a way to understand the vision of the collection and illustrating its principle to cover all techniques and periods of civilisations, from prehistory to present at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, the inaugural exhibition-dossier showcased three remarkable works from the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection: Confirmation by the 17th-century master Nicolas Poussin; Self-Portrait by the 20th-century artist Pierre Bonnard; and Triptyque 2000 – 23.12.2001 by the contemporary artist Zao (ca. 1637–1640) by Nicolas Poussin is part of the artist's renowned Seven Sacraments series. This painting holds a central place in the history of Western art, created by an artist regarded as a pivotal figure in the history of art in general. Touching on both spiritual and social themes, the work's inclusion in the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection aims to attract a new global audience and to inspire future (1939) by Pierre Bonnard is a key component of the artist's late series of self-portraits. In its depiction of an intimate and enclosed world, the painting creates a powerful emotional impact, standing as one of the most sensitive and deeply affecting self-portraits of its 2000 – 23.12.2001, (2000-2001) by contemporary artist Zao Wou-Ki is an important work that highlights the expressive possibilities arising from the intersection of different cultural traditions and pictorial languages. Blending traditional Chinese aesthetics with Western modernist techniques, the triptych is a lyrical representation of nature that transcends visual first exhibition-dossier of the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection immersed viewers in the unique creative universes of these three artists, showcasing works that represent the pinnacle of their artistic achievements. New exhibition-dossiers from the Abu Dhabi Masterpieces Collection will be unveiled over the coming months, offering further exciting opportunities for engagement and discovery.
