Max Theynet
Born in 1875.
Died in 1949.
Swiss · Post-Impressionism and an individual form of Fauvism · Neuchâtel landscape painting
Max Robert Theynet (1875–1949) was a Swiss painter and watercolourist, born and deceased in Colombier in the canton of Neuchâtel. His training included three years in St Gallen with Jean Stauffacher, four years at an art school in Zurich, and then a six-year stay in Paris, where he worked in the studio of Luc-Olivier Merson. On returning to Colombier, he established his studio there permanently.
He painted mainly the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, Jura and Valais landscapes, snow scenes and floral still lifes; he also practised watercolour and painting on faience. Historical catalogues document his participation in Swiss travelling exhibitions from 1904 onward, at the Nemzeti Szalon in Budapest in 1910, at the Musée des beaux-arts du Locle in 1913 and at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1924. His mature painting is characterised by energetic brushwork, frequent use of the palette knife, generous impasto and a luminous palette.
It shows affinities with Post-Impressionism and Fauvism without being reducible to either movement. In Colombier, Theynet also passed on technical knowledge to Walter Mafli, who regarded him as one of his teachers. In 2018, seven of his paintings entered the collections of the Musée des beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds through a bequest.
The works by Max Theynet presented by Swiss Art Gallery extend this artistic journey and take their place naturally within this corpus.
