Shaker of the Soul | Louis Soutter (1871-1942)
And one of my favorite museum permanent (almost!) collection walls 🖼
Earlier this year, I went to Lausanne for research’s purposes at the Zao Wou-Ki’s Foundation, and on my last day, I went on a little visit at the Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts at the PLATEFORME 10 district, next to the train station. Its permanent collection doesn’t pretend to be encyclopaedic, but the works are well organised and presented. It was where I encountered for the first time the works of Louis Soutter, on a wall whose layout struck me immediately and haunted me for a while.
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Symphony of Mastery
I just stood still, being struck by what was in front of my eyes… I was totally absorbed by this dialogue between some of my favorite masters of the 20th century.
a magical symphony of Paul Klee, Louis Soutter, Jean Dubuffet and Alberto Giacometti
Not all of the works shown in this view belong to the museum’s permanent collection. The two Giacometti from his mature period, Grande femme III of 1960 and Buste d’homme (Lotar II) of 1964-5 are borrowed from private collections for display during several months. The Grande femme III, originally created for the never finished commission project for Chase Manhattan Bank Plaza in New York, was meant to be placed alongside Giacometti’s most emblematic work, Homme qui marche!
It was definitely one of the strongest moments of my museum viewing experience. From a masterpiece of Paul Klee, the Am Nil (1939), to the two earthy and mystical têtes of Dubuffet, there’s something insanely modern and prehistoric at the same time in this ingeniously woven exchange between the artists.
Soutter - Shaker of the Soul
Right after my first encounter with this artist in his homeland, in the same museum that held his first ever retrospective in 1961, I saw him again in Paris in March at the Karsten Greve gallery.
I used to live right across the street for a whole year. It was my first year in Paris, and I got to experience the bustling artsy Haut Marais district in a very special moment in history. We were in the second and third COVID confinements so most museums were closed, but galleries were still allowed to open their doors as they were considered business entities. Although I didn’t have all the references to understand the artists that I saw in the galleries at that time as I was just starting out as an Art History student, I learned and enjoyed immensely with a beginner’s mind 初心. I often go back to the galleries that I discovered at this moment of life with much nostalgia.
They put together a series of his 14 finger paintings done between 1930 and 1942. I learned during this exhibition that he is cousin to the architect Le Corbusier, who wrote him an article in 1936 in the art magazine Minotaure, much circulated among the avant-gardists. I learned that he was also a very promising and talented musician, to even earning the prestigious position as the first violin at the symphony orchestra of Geneva that he lost in 1915. He taught music and painting when he lived in Colorado from 1897 to 1903. His finger paintings embody the bodily rythme in the music and in the danse. The anonymous silhouettes seemly in trance and the natural elements evoked in his painting are reminiscent of ancient Greek black-figure pottery and Palaeolithic cave art. I love artists who are able to transcend different artistic disciplines with erudition and ease.
The show ends on May 4th for those who are interested.
With love 📡💡💙
J.Z.
Thanks for reading the post! I hope you enjoyed it. Remember to subscribe as I go around to see museums and gallery shows quite regularly, and I don’t want you to miss out on the latest gems! I keep all my posts free and public. The paid subscription is just one of those ways to show your support and to get full access to the publication archives.