Signed, this oil on panel by Cesare Maggi (1881–1961) shows Mont Blanc du Tacul seen from the Glacier du Géant, Chamonix, France.

Looking up from the Glacier du Géant at the foot of the Aiguille du Toule, from right to left, the Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Maudit and, on the far left, the dome of Mont Blanc itself form a series of imposing peaks all over 4000 metres. The shoulder of the Tour Ronde protrudes into the left of the composition on this small panel, painted at over 3,000 metres in a series of rapid brushstrokes.

Closely aligned with the work and style of Giovanni Segantini, Maggi was one of the leading representatives of the second generation of Divisionist painters in Italy. Having studied in Florence, Milan and Paris, Maggi spent time painting in the Engadine and the Val d'Aosta before moving to Turin, where he signed a contract in 1900 with the dealer Vittore Grubicy. He was made professor of painting at Turin's Albertina Academy in 1936 and was considered one of the Val d'Aosta's most devoted landscapists.

Works painted directly at altitude, in rapid brushstrokes like this one, are considered among Maggi's most spontaneous and sought-after Alpine subjects. Collectors of Italian Divisionism, plein-air Alpine oil sketches, and Mont Blanc massif/Chamonix views will find this a compelling small-format example of Maggi's direct, on-the-spot working method.