Abraham Hermanjat
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Jacques-Elie-Abraham Hermanjat (29 September 1862,
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
- 12 October 1932, Aubonne) was a Swiss painter who worked primarily in the Fauvist and Divisionist styles and was one of the first Swiss artists to draw on the work of
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...
. He was also involved in cultural politics.


Biography

After attending the public schools of Geneva, he studied art with
Barthélemy Menn Barthélemy Menn (20 May 1815 – 10 October 1893) was a Swiss people, Swiss painter and draughtsman who introduced the principles of ''plein-air'' painting and the ''paysage intime'' into Swiss art. Early life Menn was the youngest of four sons, ...
and Auguste Baud-Bovy. In 1886, he went to
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, to join his mother and brother after his father's death. He stayed until 1888 and returned on two other occasions; 1889-1890 and 1893-1896. During these visits, he developed an interest in
Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
, a genre which was already in favor with some of his compatriots, including
Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including He ...
and Auguste Veillon. His paintings there were executed in the traditional styles he had learned in Geneva. In 1896 Hermanjat, then married, returned with his wife Marie Louise, née Zénobel (1855–1955), to Switzerland and initially settled in
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
. In 1908, they moved to Aubonne. By 1911, he had built a cottage there, where he lived until his death. He soon abandoned Orientalism and turned to landscapes, spending much of his time in the mountains; primarily near
Aigle Aigle ( French for "eagle", ; ) is a historic town and a municipality and the capital of the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The official language of Aigle is Swiss French. Geography Aigle lies at an elevation of a ...
, although he also visited
Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
, Nendaz, Haute-Nendaz and
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. His paintings from this period owe much to the influence of Giovanni Segantini. During the years 1908 to 1912, he became attracted to Fauvism and began applying non-natural colors to his landscapes. In 1910, following genealogical research, he began spelling his name "Hermanjat", rather than "Hermenjat" as he had previously. It was also at this time that he made the acquaintance of Ferdinand Hodler and was influenced by
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
. Over the next decade, however, Cézanne would supplant Hodler as his primary inspiration. From 1910 to 1928, he was a member of the Central Committee of the Society of Swiss Painters, Sculptors and Architects (SPSAS). He also served on the Federal Commission for Fine Arts from 1922 to 1925.See: ''Prix conseillé. 100 ans de Concours fédéral des beaux-arts, 1899-1999'', Pierre-André Lienhard, Stéphanie Bédat et Katrin Künzi dir., publ. par L'Office fédéral de la culture, urich Orell Füssli Verlag,
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This was in addition to several teaching positions and jury service for art competitions. His adopted daughter, Germaine Hermanjat (1909-2002), started out to be a painter but devoted herself to the promotion of his works. In 2003, following her death, money she had bequeathed to the city of
Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...
was used to create the Abraham Hermanjat Foundation. In 2012, the , the Musée du Léman and the foundation joined, on the occasion of his 150th anniversary, to present the first major showing of his works in over thirty years.


Selected paintings

File:Abraham Hermanjat, Montagnes enneigées, Fah000567-2.jpg, alt=, ''Montagnes enneigées'' (Snowy Mountains) File:Abraham Hermanjat - Mon verger 1905.jpg, alt=, ''Mon verger''
(My Orchard), 1905 File:Abraham Hermanjat, Faucheur de dos, Fah001520.jpg, alt=, ''Faucheur de dos''
(Rear View of a
Reaper A reaper is a farm implement that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass, especially wheat. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used ...
) File:Abraham Hermanjat - Campement à Biskra.jpg, alt=, ''Campement à Biskra'' (Camp Near
Biskra Biskra () is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about from Algiers, southwest of Batna, Algeria, Batna and north of Touggourt. It is nickna ...
), ca. 1920


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* André Kuenzi, ''Collection Hermanjat'', Nyon, Maison du Léman, s.d.
976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...
* ''Abraham Hermanjat. Le lac'', text by Georges Peillex and Germaine Hermanjat, Lausanne, Jean Genoud Imprimeur, 1982. * ''Hermanjat'', text by Charles Chinet, Franck Jotterand and André Kuenzi, Aubonne, Éditions « Le Crêt », 1962. * "Le peintre Abraham Hermanjat 1862-1932", special edition of ''L’art en Suisse'', January–March 1933. * Paul Budry, ''Abraham Hermanjat. Tableaux choisis précédés d’un essai sur le peintre et son œuvre'', Lausanne, Éditions Romanes, 1932.


External links


More works by Hermanjat
at ArtNet *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermanjat, Abraham 1862 births 1932 deaths Swiss landscape painters Orientalist painters Artists from Geneva Fauvism