Henri Dobler (1863–1941) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

art collector, painter, poet and art critic. He is best known for refurbishing the

Pavillon Vendôme The Pavillon Vendôme is a historic pavilion surrounded by a French formal garden located 32 rue Celony in Aix-en-Provence, France. History It was built by architect Pierre Pavillon (1612-1670) between 1665 and 1667.''Aix en provence, pays A ...

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, from 1906 to 1914.

Biography

Early life

Henri Dobler was born in 1863 in Switzerland. His parents sold silk and textiles in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

.Le Pavillon Vendôme rend justice à Henri Dobler
''

La Provence ''La Provence'' is a French language daily newspaper published in Marseille, France. History and profile In 1997 ''La Provence'' was created in Marseille from the merger of two daily newspapers, ''Le Provençal'' of former Interior Minister Ga ...

'', September 02, 2012

Adult life

He started his career in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. In 1895, he gave up on his military ambitions and focused on art. He started collecting art, wrote a poetry book, and started painting. His paintings dealt with mythology and romanticism. However, it is thought that his paintings were not very successful because of a personal and vocal rift he had with

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 ...

, whose work he called "dirty paintings" and "the biggest scam of the century". In 1906, he purchased the Pavillon Vendôme in Aix-en-Provence and refurbished it until 1914. He also took pains to add furniture specifically from Provence to the house. Meanwhile, he also wrote books about the history of architecture in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.Nathalie Ferrand, ''Locus in Fabula: La Topique de L'espace Dans Les Fictions Françaises D'Ancien Régime'', Peeters Publishers, 2004, p. 61

/ref> Hubert de Courcy painted his portrait.

Death

He died in 1941.

Bibliography

*''La Petite Sirène'' (1899) *''La maison de rêve'' (1900) *''Les Vestiges des architectures et des arts décoratifs provençaux aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles à Aix-en-Provence'' (1910) *''Les Vestiges des architectures et des arts décoratifs provençaux aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles à Marseille'' (1913) *''Six mois de journalisme indépendant en province'' (1922) *''Le cadre de la vie mondaine à Aix-en-Provence aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles: Boudoirs et jardins'' (1928)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobler, Henri 1863 births 1941 deaths People from Aix-en-Provence Swiss art collectors 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss painters 20th-century Swiss poets 20th-century Swiss male writers Swiss male poets Swiss non-fiction writers Swiss male non-fiction writers 19th-century Swiss male artists 20th-century Swiss male artists