Spring in the Alps

*Spring in the Alps* depicts a panoramic alpine landscape near the village of Soglio—visible on the right with its recognizable church tower—in Val Bregaglia in southwestern Switzerland. The view sweeps across the expansive plateau and valley to the majestic, snow-capped Sciora Massif and Bondasca Glacier. In the middle of the composition a robust farm girl, dressed in the blue and red peasant costume characteristic of the Grisons (Graubünden) Canton, leads two large draught horses past a watering trough. They have left the freshly plowed field, visible in the left middle ground, where a sower scatters seeds; a vigilant black and white dog stands guard at the right. The joyful mood of the picture is expressed in the bright, shimmering sunlight and the glorious, expansive vista.