Marcel Poncet
Born in 1886.
Died in 1954.
Marcel Poncet (29 January 1894, Geneva — 18 June 1953, Lausanne) is documented as a painter trained at the École des Beaux-Arts who also practised and produced stained glass and mosaics. These include the stained-glass window «Josué» for the Church of Saint-Sigismond in Saint-Maurice (1942–1947), the mosaic «Flore» in the botanical gardens of Lausanne (1943), and an oil on canvas entitled La Grande Cafetière (c. 1948), which is mentioned as being held by the Musée cantonal des beaux-arts de Lausanne.
After studying at the Collège de Genève and the vocational school, he entered the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Genève in 1910, where he studied under Eugène Gilliard and Ferdinand Hodler. He supplemented this training with an apprenticeship as a glassmaker in Carouge, notably at the Krachten workshop.
Upon returning from a difficult stay in Paris, he established his studio in Vich (Vaud) in 1924, joined the Geneva section of the Société des peintres, sculpteurs et architectes suisses, and received his first commissions. Over the course of his career, he was awarded important grants, notably the federal fine arts grant in 1933 and a grant from the Pro Arte Foundation in 1944.
From 1934 onwards, he exhibited regularly at the Galerie Vallotton in Lausanne and, in 1945, was appointed professor at the École cantonale de dessin et d'art appliqué de Lausanne.
Among his sacred-art commissions was the stained-glass window «Josué» (1942–1947) for the Church of Saint-Sigismond in Saint-Maurice. The mosaic «Flore», produced in 1943 for the botanical gardens of Lausanne, illustrates his work in the field of polychrome mural works. The presence of a large-format painting, La Grande Cafetière (c.
1948), further attests to a painting practice preserved in a regional public institution.
In terms of family, he was the husband of Anne-Marie Poncet-Denis (born Anne-Marie Denis) and the father of the sculptor Antoine Poncet (1928–2022); he was also related to Maurice Denis by marriage.