An oil by the French Alpine painter Charles-Henri Contencin (1898–1955) showing the Refuge Caron – better known today as the Refuge des Ecrins – perched above the Glacier Blanc in the Dauphiné Alps of France.

Contencin returned repeatedly to the Dauphiné throughout his painting and climbing career, drawn to the dramatic setting of the Barre des Ecrins (4,102m) and its comparatively quiet climbing routes, in contrast to the more heavily visited Mont Blanc massif to the north.

The Dauphiné and its mountains was an area that Contencin returned to many times during his painting and climbing career. The Barre des Ecrins (4102m) rears up in the western French Alps, the Dauphiné, offering spectacular climbing with a lighter footfall of visitors than in the Mont Blanc massif. The Refuge Caron, better known as the Refuge des Ecrins, is perched in a spectacular setting above the Glacier Blanc.