Alpine Lake Village Below the Matterhorn

A jagged snow-capped peak rises at the center of a green mountain valley, its reflection sinking into a turquoise lake below. Wooden chalets with carved balconies and steep gray roofs cluster along the near shore, while cows and sheep graze on the open pasture behind them. Two waterfalls drop through granite cliffs on the right, feeding the lake with white ribbons of water. A wooden dock holds a row of canoes in red, yellow, blue and green, tied close together at the water's edge. Hikers with backpacks follow a dirt path through drifts of lupine, poppies and gentian that spill across the foreground in purple, orange and blue. Evergreen forest climbs the slopes on both sides, framing the peak beyond. The chalets, the dock, and the flower beds each hold their own patch of color, giving the eye a string of resting points to follow down to the water.