Biancograt
Biancograt, the Ladder to the Sky
Biancograt in morning light, the ladder to the sky leading to Piz Bernina.
Piz Bernina is the only four thousand metre peak in the Eastern Alps and the highest mountain in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. The Swiss national map records its elevation as 4'049.1 m above sea level. Like its neighbours Piz Palü, Piz Roseg and Bellavista, Piz Bernina belongs to the Bernina Range.
The Biancograt earns its name honestly. From the Fuorcla Prievlusa it climbs south in one clean white line, a snow crest so narrow that climbers walk it with a foot on either side of the sky. Morning reaches it before anywhere else in the valley. The Tschierva side turns rose, then ivory, while the Morteratsch flank stays blue for another hour. Beyond the crest the ridge drops into the notch and rises again to the highest summit in the eastern Alps. It is the most elegant line in Graubünden, and it photographs like a signature.
Height: Piz Bernina 4'049 m, Piz Bianco (top of the ridge) 3'995 m
First Ascent: 12 August 1878, Paul Güssfeldt with the Pontresina guides Hans Grass and Johann Gross
Coordinates: 46°22′56″ N, 9°54′29″ E (Piz Bernina); 46°23′05″ N, 9°54′23″ E (Piz Bianco)
Range: Bernina Range, Engadin, Graubünden
Many small details make the difference
It is a long way from an idea, a vision, to a strong photograph, and to preparing it so that it inspires and motivates us anew every day for many years. The challenges lie in the details: the planning, the weather, the light, being in the right place at the right moment with the right equipment. Back in the studio comes the image processing, the print on the appropriate fine art paper and, finally, the frame or the mounting. Only when all of these steps are precisely aligned does an idea become a unique, timeless work.
Every image an experience
Years of experience
For more than ten years I have had the privilege of helping shape living spaces and workplaces. Each time, it is a wonderful experience to see a work in its new surroundings and to feel its presence. Together with the client, we carefully select the right fine art paper to render the full tonal range and level of detail of the photograph. The right frame is the crowning touch of the work and its connection to the room.
Signed, Limited Edition
The edition of these works is limited to 15 signed fine art prints and two Artist's Proofs, which are not for sale. Each work and its certificate is personally signed by Jürg Kaufmann, and every print produced is recorded and registered in the edition register. The name of the buyer or collector is disclosed only with their consent.
About Jürg Kaufmann
Jürg Kaufmann is a Swiss fine art photographer. His work moves between three subjects: the mountains of the Engadin and the Bernina Range, the classic yachts of the Mediterranean, and the people who shape both. Mountains, oceans and people, photographed from the ground, from the air and from the water, and revisited across seasons and years.
His works are installed at the Grace La Margna in St. Moritz, at Hotel Bad Horn and in private collections in Switzerland and abroad. He publishes glaciers.today, a long term documentation of the Engadin glaciers.
Studio and gallery in Zürich, Switzerland. Projects by appointment worldwide.