Paul Monnier
Encyclopedia
Paul Monnier was a Swiss
painter
.
From 1930 to 1932, Monnier journeyed in India, Indo-China, and Tonkin. In a letter to C. J., Paul Monnier writes: "I'm wasting my time trying to abolish this job from my life. Painting is my job, my real and only job." (Vizagapatam, June 3, 1931).
After he returned, Monnier devoted himself to painting and lived successively in Geneva (1932–1936), Sierre Valais (1936–1949), Lausanne (1949–1970) and Geneva again (1970–1982).
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Biography
From 1924 to 1930, Monnier studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Geneva , took numerous trips in Italy and France, and was a member of the :fr:Ecole des Pâquis."The 'Ecole des Pâquis' occurred simply and effortlessly, naturally putting aside any cumbersome conceit and any personal outburst. ...These artists belong to this post-war generation which no longer dreams of superman. The subtleties of their craft come before aesthetic theories. Whenever laziness, alcohol, Bohemia and fiddling don't tempt them, they are capable of efforts far more disciplined than those we have made in the past 30 years. In a nutshell, long live the post-war youth that we have so run down." (Alexandre Cingria, 1929)
From 1930 to 1932, Monnier journeyed in India, Indo-China, and Tonkin. In a letter to C. J., Paul Monnier writes: "I'm wasting my time trying to abolish this job from my life. Painting is my job, my real and only job." (Vizagapatam, June 3, 1931).
After he returned, Monnier devoted himself to painting and lived successively in Geneva (1932–1936), Sierre Valais (1936–1949), Lausanne (1949–1970) and Geneva again (1970–1982).
Exhibitions
- Switzerland: Geneva; Sion; Sierre; Martigny; Zurich.
- Italy: Milano, Ve Triennale.
- Spain: Madrid, International Exhibition of Arts and Crafts.
- Austria: Salzburg, Kirchliche Kunst.
- USSR: Moscow, Swiss Artists.
- France: Paris, Salon international de l'Art libre; Paris, Salon des Artistes français (invited).
Mural paintings, stained glass, mosaic
- India: Yenubaruvu.
- France: Le Fayet, Eglise Notre-Dame des Alpes (Architect: Maurice NovarinaMaurice NovarinaMaurice Novarina was a French architect; born in Thonon-les-Bains, in Haute-Savoie, he died in the town of his birth. He is best known for having designed the church of Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce du Plateau d'Assy. He was a student of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and later...
). - Switzerland, among more than 60 realisations: St. Maurice's Abbey, Sion (Cathedral), Sion (St Ursule's Chapel), Crans-Montana (Parish church), Viège (St Martin's church), Zurich (St Konrad's church), Zurich-Enge (Three-Kings' church), Dubendorf (Maria- Friedenskirche), Lausanne (St Joseph's church), Geneva (Notre-Dame's basilic).
- Paul Monnier worked with Alexandre Cingria and Gino SeveriniGino SeveriniGino Severini , was an Italian painter and a leading member of the Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classicism and the "return to order" in the decade after the First World War. During his career he worked in a variety of...
(Lausanne, Notre-Dame du Valentin).
Illustrations
- Nourritures valaisannes. Maurice ZermattenMaurice ZermattenMaurice Zermatten was a French-speaking Swiss writer.He was born in Saint-Martin, Valais, a small village situated in the Val d'Hérens, in the canton of Valais. He was first educated at the Ecole normale and then at the University of Fribourg...
, LUF, Fribourg, 1938. - Notre ami le Vin. Pierre Courthion, W. Egloff, Fribourg, 1943.
- Le parcours du Haut-Rhône. Charles-Albert Cingria, W. Egloff, Fribourg, 1944.
- Le bazar de la Charité. Paul MorandPaul MorandPaul Morand was a French diplomat, novelist, playwright and poet, considered an early Modernist.He was a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies...
, Club des Bibliophiles, Genève, 1944.
"Paul Monnier's work is firstly and mainly painting. This truism conceals a constant proceeding, highly true to itself and to the craft - which is not a minor achievement given a world where creative activity seems to be more and more confined by concept and word jugglers!
Cancelled movement, suspended vibration, objects and figures immobilized in their inmost loneliness, our glance seizes the composition like a wordless poem, a soundless music. The full circle of the creative route is then completed and painting joins its own mystery." (Bernard Zumthor, 1975)