Evening with Dents du midi. Color of the air. 14.06.2025. 13x26 cm

New Evening with Dents du Midi. Color of the Air. 14.06.2025

This original plein-air oil painting was created in Switzerland on an evening in June 2025 overlooking the distant Dents du Midi mountain range. Painted directly outdoors, the work captures not the mountains themselves as solid forms, but the atmosphere surrounding them, the subtle colour of the air at the moment when daylight begins to dissolve into evening.

The composition is remarkably reduced. A large expanse of sky occupies most of the painting, while the mountains emerge quietly in the distance through layers of pale violet, grey, blue and warm luminous tones. Near the foreground, a solitary tree bends slightly within the open space, becoming a fragile counterpoint to the monumental presence of the Alps beyond.

Rather than focusing on topographical detail, the painting explores atmospheric perception. The title Color of the Air reflects the central subject of the work: the invisible substance between the viewer and the landscape. At sunset, distance becomes coloured by light itself. Mountains lose their sharpness and begin to appear suspended inside layers of air, haze and fading illumination.

The Dents du Midi are among the most recognizable mountain silhouettes visible across Western Switzerland and the region surrounding Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). Their presence often dominates the horizon, yet in this painting they remain partially absorbed into the evening atmosphere, allowing colour and light to become more important than physical form. (whc.unesco.org, whc.unesco.org)

The surface of the painting is built through restrained yet expressive brushwork. Soft passages of colour create a sense of spaciousness, while thicker marks within the tree and foreground introduce rhythm and structure. The contrast between the immense sky and the small earthly elements below gives the scene a feeling of silence, distance and contemplation.

On this June evening, the landscape seemed suspended between day and night. Warm tones lingered inside the clouds while cooler colours gradually emerged across the mountains and open air. The painting preserves this brief transitional moment when the atmosphere itself became the true subject of observation.

Created during a single plein-air painting session, this work belongs to my ongoing series dedicated to the Alps, Lac Léman and the landscapes of Western Switzerland. Each painting records a direct encounter with light, atmosphere and place observed in nature.

Original plein-air oil painting by Olga Tacan.

Location: Vaud, Switzerland
Subject: Dents du Midi at evening, atmospheric landscape
Region: Swiss Alps overlooking Lac Léman (Lake Geneva)
Medium: Oil painting
Date painted: 14 June 2025

Oil on paper

Plain air painting

Size 13 cm x 26 cm

Size with passé-partout  21 x 36.5 cm 

Date: 14 June 2025

Location: Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland