Zinal Valais Suisse Poster. Zinal station d’été et d’hiver
For this classic 1950s Zinal poster, the Swiss artist Erich Hermès revisited his 1934 Valais Switzerland poster for his inspiration. The two posters are almost identical. The image features a small ski station that stands proudly on the slopes of the Bernese Oberland in the shadow of the majestic Matterhorn mountain. However, instead of the local woman and her mule, Hermes has placed a large rock prominently at the front of the image with what appears to be a rare species of bright red Tulipa flowers growing out of the top.
The Suisse Wallis poster was produced to advertise the charming mountain village of Zinal as both a summer and a winter resort. The small, village nestles right at the end of the Val d’Anniviers (Eifischtal), at the foot of the Couronne Impériale peaks and is surrounded by the highest mountains in the Alps. The 4000-meter-peaks of the Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Dent Blanche and of course the Matterhorn.
During the summer months, Zinal is the perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts looking to explore the mountains of the Alps. The area surrounding Zinal is characterised by rugged peaks, rolling glaciers, and high alpine meadows, offering countless opportunities for walking, and hiking along old narrow mountain paths created by farmers and traders over the centuries. During the winter the resort turns into one of Switzerland’s most popular skiing destinations.
Erich Hermes Zinal poster artist
Eric Hermès was born on the 18th January 1881 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. In 1899 he moved to Geneva where he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts during which time he became a Swiss citizen.
From 1909, Hermès completed several paintings, sculptures, and bas-reliefs for many public institutions in Geneva, and in 1911 had his first solo exhibition at the Musée Rath in Geneva.
During the First World War, Hermès moved to Vérossaz in Valais. Here he travelled a lot around the canton and painted views of the mountain pastures and portraits of farmers.
From 1929, he gained a reputation as a poster artist with the creation of more than 20 tourist and advertising posters. Some of his most popular posters include his mountain trekker poster for Grand Vin Valaian Montibeux, his cigar-smoking mountain of a man for Cigars Valaisans Von Der Mühll Sion, and his two ski-related travel posters for Winter in Switzerland.
Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.
The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £15. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.
