Artists’ stories

Frédéric Rouge — Portrait d’Urbain Olivier — Image creditsFrédéric Rouge · Portrait d’Urbain Olivier · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Frédéric Rouge — « Portrait d’Urbain Olivier ».
Frédéric Rouge · Portrait d’Urbain Olivier · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Frédéric Rouge · 4 min read

Sixty sittings for a writer who preferred his pen

Urbain Olivier’s letters illuminate the long sittings for his portrait by the young Frédéric Rouge, then the painting’s first presentation in Lausanne.

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Frédéric Rouge — Le Braconnier — Image creditsFrédéric Rouge · Le Braconnier · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Frédéric Rouge — « Le Braconnier ».
Frédéric Rouge · Le Braconnier · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Frédéric Rouge · 4 min read

A poacher in the public collection

The Poacher, painted in 1908 and preserved at the Musée Jenisch, allows us to follow Rouge’s rural figure to an exhibition questioning its idealisation.

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Émile Chambon — Nature morte aux capucines dans une chope — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Nature morte aux capucines dans une chope · Image : Dobiaschofsky Auktionen AG
Émile Chambon — « Nature morte aux capucines dans une chope ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Nature morte aux capucines dans une chope · Image : Dobiaschofsky Auktionen AG
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

Nasturtiums encounter a spoon

Nasturtiums and an African Spoon, a work of 1948, unites two elements whose difference the title emphasises. The painting opens a question about objects brought together by painting and information still to be sought.

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Émile Chambon — Cour de l’Hôtel-de-Ville (Nocturne), 1973 — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Cour de l’Hôtel-de-Ville (Nocturne), 1973 · Image : Sotheby’s
Émile Chambon — « Cour de l’Hôtel-de-Ville (Nocturne), 1973 ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Cour de l’Hôtel-de-Ville (Nocturne), 1973 · Image : Sotheby’s
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

Snow makes a courtyard a subject

Courtyard in Carouge under Snow, painted in 1936, combines an urban place with a passing condition. The title invites us to look at what a change of season can make new in an everyday space.

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Émile Chambon — Manège — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Manège · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
Émile Chambon — « Manège ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Manège · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

The horse that never leaves its wood

The Wooden Horse of 1948 transforms a familiar object into an independent subject. In Chambon’s work, the boundary between collection, play and representation opens a space for reading without requiring an invented childhood.

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Émile Chambon — L’Escalier tournant, 23 boulevard de la Cluse, 1965 — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · L’Escalier tournant, 23 boulevard de la Cluse, 1965 · Image : Sotheby’s
Émile Chambon — « L’Escalier tournant, 23 boulevard de la Cluse, 1965 ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · L’Escalier tournant, 23 boulevard de la Cluse, 1965 · Image : Sotheby’s
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

The staircase keeps its address

With The Winding Staircase, 23 Boulevard de la Cluse, Chambon names a passage and an address. This choice transforms a place of movement into an object of attention, without claiming to reconstruct the building’s life.

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Émile Chambon — Le coq de Java — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Le coq de Java · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
Émile Chambon — « Le coq de Java ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Le coq de Java · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

A falcon and an egg, two arrested presences

The Falcon and the Ostrich Egg of 1974 brings together two elements associated with birds. The work allows us to question how a collection and a painting retain forms without confusing their histories.

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Émile Chambon — La lecture interrompue, 1963 — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · La lecture interrompue, 1963 · Image : Beurret Bailly Widmer
Émile Chambon — « La lecture interrompue, 1963 ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · La lecture interrompue, 1963 · Image : Beurret Bailly Widmer
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

A friendship gives painting a Paris address

Chambon’s meeting with Louise de Vilmorin in 1961 is followed by an exhibition at the Galerie Motte. A documented preface and initiative allow this support to be recounted without inventing their private relationship.

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Émile Chambon — Le pied de marbre, 1963 — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Le pied de marbre, 1963 · Image : Beurret Bailly Widmer
Émile Chambon — « Le pied de marbre, 1963 ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Le pied de marbre, 1963 · Image : Beurret Bailly Widmer
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

A collection leaves the studio for the museum

In 1981 Chambon donates a substantial part of his collection to Geneva’s Musée d’ethnographie. The move opens a history distinct from his paintings, one that also requires questions of provenance to be retained.

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Émile Chambon — Le Rhône près de Genève — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Le Rhône près de Genève · Image : Dobiaschofsky Auktionen AG
Émile Chambon — « Le Rhône près de Genève ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Le Rhône près de Genève · Image : Dobiaschofsky Auktionen AG
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

Two rivers in a school hall

The catalogue dates The Seasons: the Rhône and the Arve to 1950. This mural is documented in a Geneva educational establishment; its everyday setting changes how a work can accompany its visitors.

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Émile Chambon — Hommage au Caravage — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Hommage au Caravage · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
Émile Chambon — « Hommage au Caravage ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Hommage au Caravage · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

Ten weeks at the Louvre, then the return

A second scholarship takes Émile Chambon to Paris in 1928. His stay making copies at the Louvre ends earlier than planned: the period of study again encounters the limits of available resources.

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Émile Chambon — Autoportrait et son modèle devant la cheminée — Image creditsÉmile Chambon · Autoportrait et son modèle devant la cheminée · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
Émile Chambon — « Autoportrait et son modèle devant la cheminée ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Émile Chambon · Autoportrait et son modèle devant la cheminée · Image : Piguet Hôtel des Ventes
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Émile Chambon · 5 min read

Entering art school when money is short

In 1921 Émile Chambon encounters a difficulty that precedes painting: the material possibility of entering an artistic career. A scholarship also opens the way to a first stay in Paris.

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