Renée Yolanda Hauser
Born in 1919.
Died in 2008.
Reference works also list her under the name Brandani-Hauser; she was among the former members of the Swiss Society of Women Artists in the Visual Arts. Her practice encompasses painting, watercolour and drawing. Rather than reducing her oeuvre to the bouquets that recur frequently in catalogues, it is important to consider the diversity of the places and subjects she represented.
A view of Bern dated 1962, the landscapes entitled «Camargue» (1963) and «Siena» (1961), as well as a view of Jerusalem, demonstrate her interest in the city and the landscape. Her still lifes are constructed around flowers, foliage and fruit: «Petit bouquet des bois» (1972), «Jasmin jaune et grenade» (1980) and «Bouquet de printemps» provide documented examples. These titles reveal an attentiveness to the variety of plant life and to the colours of the seasons.
Sale records refer chiefly to oils on hardboard; some compositions also make use of gold leaf.
A watercolour preserved in the Bern State Archives reveals another facet of her work: Hauser is identified there as the draughtswoman of an image devoted to the construction of the new Grauholz road, dated 10 May 1962. This record of a contemporary building site complements the urban views and bouquets. It invites us to see in her oeuvre a sustained observation of the environment, from the transformations of the city to the delicate forms of a flower.
The accessible sources document specific works, but shed little light as yet on her training and the course of her career.
