Ascension

A row of bearded men in tall fur hats and thick sheepskin-lined coats walks in a loose line across a barren, undulating highland landscape, one figure leaning on a cane at the group's edge. Behind them stretches a vast expanse of snow-streaked slopes and ridges fading into an overcast horizon.

The palette is restrained to greys, browns and muted blues, with pale streaks of snow cutting across the dark hillsides. Broad, textured brushwork builds the heavy coats and weathered faces, while the low horizon and wide format give the figures a slow, deliberate sense of ascent across the immense, empty terrain.