André Ramseyer
Born in 1914.
Died in 2007.
André Ramseyer (1914–2007) is presented in the available documents as a Swiss sculptor and poet, and stated that he turned towards non-figurative sculpture from 1948 onwards, following the creation of La Baigneuse.
His training combined studies in Switzerland — attendance at the secondary school in Saint‑Imier, a period at the École normale, and enrolment at the art school in La Chaux‑de‑Fonds — with further study in Florence and Paris; on his return to Switzerland, he obtained in 1936 the diploma qualifying him to teach artistic subjects.
In his personal and professional life, he married Jacqueline Maeder in 1941, settled in Neuchâtel from 1943 onwards, and made a brief stay in Paris in 1949, where he associated with the sculptor Ossip Zadkine.
Alongside his work as a sculptor, he taught until 1970, when he gave up teaching in order to devote himself fully to sculpture; in 1973, he authored a professional text entitled « Propos d'un sculpteur ».
A recording or intervention dated 8 December 1987 in Neuchâtel is among the archival documents consulted.
La Baigneuse (1948), cited as the starting point of his non-figurative orientation, is located in the garden of the Hôtel DuPeyrou in Neuchâtel.
