Henri Piccot
Born in 1899.
Died in 1972.
A significant archival document is a letter from the Kunsthaus Zürich to Henri Piccot dated 21 February 1928 (document reference D-32126). He is also cited among the painters associated with the artistic milieu of Saint-Imier, alongside Charles-Edouard Gogler and other local artists. According to the CCL, although Piccot’s still lifes are numerous, they are paradoxically absent from the museum’s walls, a choice considered in relation to the work of the painter and that of his wife, Hana Bergher.
To reconsider this aspect of his oeuvre, the CCL devised a temporary display dedicated to still life, intended to prompt a dialogue between genres and generations. Within this framework, the CCL involved the artisan-photographer Jean-Marc Erard in the project in order to offer a contemporary echo to the paintings on view. Extending the display, a screening of the documentary film La Sonate des Spectres, made by the painter’s grandson Ivan Heidsieck and shown in the presence of the director, was organised to document and accompany the exhibition.
These recent initiatives—monographic exhibition, thematic display, photographic collaboration, and documentary screening—converge to renew access to and interpretation of the various facets of Piccot’s work.
