Slate Roofs

The vantage point

Pictorial analysis

1. “Fetges lies to the east below Mont-Louis. ‘Slate Roofs’ shows a view of the village, taken just before the entrance to Mont-Louis, across the Têt valley. Mackintosh’s technique in this early Roussillon work relies on generous brushwork rather than the precision of drawing and care in the application of pigment that is found in his later work.” Professor Pamela Robertson – University of Glasgow –

2. In this vertical format, Mackintosh uses a very refined colour harmony of greens, purples, yellows and ochres. The eye enters the composition through a vigorously simplified foreground of grassland and rocks.

Historical guideline

Fetges is located on the RN116, only 1 km from Mont-Louis in Cerdagne. It is a hamlet nowadays dependent on Sauto which was built in the years 1790-1794.

Fetges comes from the word “Feixes” meaning “terrace” in Catalan.

Agricultural terraces found in the area before Mont-Louis.

How to get there