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Gallo-Roman World

In the heart of Lousonna, an archaeological trail passes through a vicus, a Gallo-Roman settlement that has been unearthed in recent decades. The necropolis attests to the occupation of the site as early as the Mesolithic period, around 8000 BC. It continues with the Roman museum of Lausanne-Vidy which presents the remains of a luxurious Roman domus

with its painted room. In a green setting near the lake, the ruins of the forum still mark the ancient city centre of Lausanne. With a bit of imagination, and with the help of the optical glasses provided, everyone projects themselves onto the square, in front of the basilica and the temple dedicated to the cult of Rome. Between the museum and the park, a mosaic with geometric motifs once embellished a Gallo-Roman residence.

Middle Ages

Switzerland as we know it was divided into several cultural areas. Gothic sculpture, influenced by the ways of life in the Île-de-France region, was particularly influential in Geneva and Lausanne. As such, the cathedral of Lausanne and its portal constitute an invaluable heritage. Dating from the early 13th century, this portal bears witness to a remarkable attention to detail. The polychromy of its sculptures is remarkably well preserved. Medieval art at the end of the 14th century is at a turning point. The drawing becomes more naturalistic, the themes are detached from the religious. The painters, for lack of Swiss art schools, leave to train in neighbouring countries. Some continue their careers abroad.

The Landscape

Switzerland and its mountain ranges attract travellers at an early stage. From the end of the 18th century onwards, snow-covered landscapes became the typical Swiss theme. Thus, Caspar Wolf (1735-1783) specialized in high mountain painting. Lake Geneva also inspired several generations of artists.

The Frenchman Gustave Courbet (1810-1877), a leader of the realist movement, supported the action of the Paris Commune in 1871, during which he proposed to knock down the Vendôme column at his own expense. He would be obliged to reimburse the damage caused, and his property and paintings would be confiscated. Ruined, he went into exile in La Tour-de-Peilz, after having stayed in Veytaux, Clarens and Montreux. He died in 1877, in his house in Bon-Port, on the lake shore, before he had even begun to repay his debt.

François Bocion (1828-1890), a lover of Lake Geneva, developed a taste for outdoor painting in Switzerland. After a childhood between Lausanne, Montreux and Vevey, he studied in Paris. An unfortunate typhoid forced him to return home for good. His first paintings illustrate historical subjects then, influenced by the landscapes of Jean-Baptiste Corot, François Bocion endeavours to depict scenes of Lake Geneva. He was appointed professor of drawing at the Cantonal Industrial School, where he taught until his death.

A pupil of François Bocion, Eugène Grasset was born in 1845, also in Lausanne. Influenced by his father, a decorator and sculptor, he turned to drawing and then architecture, before working as a graphic designer. It was he who drew La Semeuse soufflant une fleur de pissenlit for the Larousse dictionary.
Félix Vallotton, also born in Lausanne in 1865, is mainly known for his woodcuts and black and white illustrations. At the age of 17, he enrolled at the Académie Julian in Paris and joined the post-impressionist movement of the Nabis and, after his marriage, devoted himself solely to painting. He was strongly inspired by the horror of the First World War before he died in 1925. A foundation, dedicated to his life and work, was created in Lausanne in 1998.

Although Switzerland officially became a federal state in 1848, a typically Swiss artistic style did not emerge. The Swiss Society of Fine Arts, founded in 1806, has been organising travelling events since 1840. Its "tournuses" aim to spread art throughout the country. Nevertheless, the Swiss continue to train abroad.

Modernity

Sculpture flourished during the 20th century. Favoured by commissions for memorials, two masters of this art asserted themselves: Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) and his filiform figures and Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) and his fascinating machines. The pictorial currents of these decades preferred to develop in Zurich or Basel.

Today, the Pully Art Museum brings together regional, emerging and established contemporary art. Also represented, the art of the 19th and 20th centuries. The main collections of the museum are grouped around Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Raoul Domenjoz, Jean Lecoultre, Jaques Berger, Albert Edgar Yersin and Marius Borgeaud, of whom the Art Museum of Pully holds the second most important collection, after the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts in Lausanne

. The MCBA's collection includes approximately 11,000 works, ranging from the 18th century to post-impressionism, with major works of cubism and Waldensian abstraction. Its reputation is based on five flagship collections: the Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros, Charles Gleyre, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Félix Vallotton and Louis Soutter fonds.

Art Brut Collection

The French painter Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) chose Lausanne to establish his exceptional collection. Founded in 1971, the collection is dedicated to works by self-taught artists. The 18th century Château de Beaulieu houses the largest collection of Art Brut, mainly amassed by the artist. The term coined by Dubuffet refers to works in all mediums by marginalized people who, with no training and devoting themselves to art for their own sake, give free rein to their imagination. Some of these surprising artists produce in prisons or psychiatric hospitals, others simply at home, but generally out of sight. Having no particular artistic culture, these men and women have access to a purified form of creation, an art in its raw state. Collages, paintings, installations, drawings of an incomparable creativity take you into troubling universes. The authenticity of each of the 5,000 pieces makes a visit to the art brut collection unforgettable.

Art of today

In the peaceful streets of Lausanne, street art has been making a name for itself over the last ten years. Urban artists have two options: the street or specialized galleries. Outdoors, the electrical cabinets donated by the municipality have been decorated since 2009 by the students of a vocational training centre. More than 600 are said to be scattered throughout the city. As for galleries, some of them are managed by street artists who sell turnkey graffiti made to order.

Places like the Eye Food Factory are driven by a desire to make urban and contemporary art in general accessible. Established or emerging artists offer street-inspired works in limited editions.

On the walls of several neighbourhoods, a little bit of everything can be found. The Flon district is the pulsating heart of the city. Even if the alternative impetus of yesteryear has subsided, many activities will enrich your stroll. If you start from the Flon esplanade, you won't miss the black walls of the Picpus building covered with trompe l'oeil painted statues. The lift and the Flon footbridge lead to the Chauderon underpass decorated with various frescoes. The underpasses in the Malley district also hide collective works. Pastel tones and black and white tags brighten up the concrete of these hidden paths.

Around the lake, towards the Bowl de Vidy. The walls of the skate-park gather happy faces and comic characters.

Tomorrow's Places

The cultural walk would be incomplete without a selection of galleries. The Art & Emotion gallery focuses on internationally renowned artists. Espace Abstract, dedicated to contemporary art, is a laboratory that brings artists and collectors together. The HumuS gallery likes to unearth offbeat artists as long as they arouse emotion, whether through humour, incongruity or eroticism. The young gallery Fabienne Levy aims to question our society through in situ

projects. The gallery owner wishes to put forward works likely to open our eyes to the current world and its problems. To do this, she has set up shop just a stone's throw from the city's future arts district, Plateforme 10.

The cultural district established not far from the station will be joined in June 2022 by the Musée de l'Élysée

, dedicated to photography. Its collection covers the entire history of photography, from the daguerreotype to the digital era, and brings together all branches of photography: artistic, documentary and photojournalistic, portraits and travel albums. Among the great photographers of Lausanne, Luc Chessex, born in 1936, worked in Cuba where he made portraits of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara before returning to his country. He then undertook a world tour which he documented with his lens. Matthieu Gafsou, born in 1981, lives and works in Lausanne. This does not prevent him from developing an international career. He began by taking an interest in landscape and architecture before tackling social subjects that touch on the human condition. The "H+" exhibition revealed at the Arles Photography Festival made a lasting impression by questioning transhumanism on all scales and across the world. Her images, which flirt with the documentary genre, follow a thread of universal significance. Would you like to visit a contemporary art centre for the general public? The Club d'art contemporain (CLAC) shares its collections of affordable works with as many people as possible. As a bonus, informal discussions and screenings invite art lovers of all ages to participate in the meetings. A dynamic place where living art acts as a link between people.