Great Upper Waterfall, High Alps

Davanne rendered the Alpine environment with a precise, almost clinical realism, employing fine line work and careful tonal gradations to convey texture—from the churning water to the craggy stone. His approach mirrors the detailed field sketches he produced during extensive mountain expeditions.

Created in the early 1860s, the image entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition (specific acquisition details are not recorded publicly). It remains one of the few surviving visual records of Davanne’s Alpine studies from that period.

During the mid‑19th century, interest in the Alps surged among artists and travelers, driven by Romantic fascination with untamed landscapes. Davanne’s work aligns with this trend, documenting the dramatic topography that attracted both scientific observation and artistic admiration.