Marcel de Chollet or Marcel Chollet (26 October 1855,

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 ...

– 30 July 1924, Geneva) was a

French speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

Swiss painter of the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

. He is mainly known for his ceiling places in public buildings, hotels and casinos in Switzerland and Paris, which can be assigned to both naturalism and

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

Life

The son of the architect Charles Joseph de Chollet, little is known of de Chollet's youth. He left Switzerland in 1880 to study at the academy in Paris. He worked in the studios of Borchgrave and Bidan,Benezit Dictionary of Artist
/ref> where he graduated in decorative painting. He then joined

Pierre-Victor Galland Pierre-Victor Galland (Geneva, 15 July 1822 – Paris, 30 November 1892) was a French decorative painter.École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

and settled in Paris for good at a studio at 17 rue Victor-Massé in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

. He successfully exhibited still lifes and drawings in Swiss salons between 1883 and 1898 – these works are now in the Musée d’art et d’histoire (Fribourg),

Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva) The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (''Museum of Art and History'') is the largest art museum in Geneva, Switzerland. The building The museum is located in Les Tranchées, in the city centre, on the site of the former fortification ring. It ...

and the

Musée Rath The Musée Rath is an art museum in Geneva, used exclusively for temporary exhibitions. Its building is the oldest purpose-built art museum in Switzerland, and the original home of Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva), Geneva's Musée d'Art et d'H ...

among others.. In Paris his work was exhibited at the

Salon des artistes français The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. In 1903 Marcel de Chollet was honoured with a ''mention'' at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. He moved away from naturalism in his still lifes, influenced by the portraits of women then being produced in Paris by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

and

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

. His first interior commission was in 1885 for the audience hall of the

Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ( ; ; ; ; sometimes the Swiss Federal Tribunal) is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation and the head of the Swiss judiciary. The Federal Supreme Court is headquartered in the Federal Courth ...

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 1895 he painted the main hall at the renowned

Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel The Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel or Résidence des Alpes is an assemblage of former palace (hotel), palace buildings in the village of Territet, which is a part of Montreux in Switzerland. History In March 1840, the town of Territet bought a pa ...

Territet Territet (Montreux) is a locality which is part of the Montreux commune, in the Vaud canton, Switzerland. Geography Territet is located between the city center of Montreux and the village of Veytaux, within the municipality of Montreux, o ...

. Further orders followed, though his real breakthrough work was an allegorical scheme for the presidential offices in the

Federal Palace of Switzerland The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly of Switzerland, Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Swiss Federal Council, Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliame ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. In 1905 he painted the reading room at the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne and a year later that in the Montreux Palace hotel in

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

. In 1908 he produced the scheme in the 'Salle del Castillo' at ''Casino du Rivage'' in

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

. However, his work on the ' Grands Magasins du Louvre' was destroyed in 1974.

Gallery

Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel Salle des Fetes par Marcel de Chollet.jpg, Main hall of the

, 1895 Montreux, hall originel du Montreux par Marcel de Chollet.jpg, Montreux Palace in

, 1906 Vevey, Salle del Castillo de l’Ancien par Marcel de Chollet.jpg, ''Salle del Castillo'' in the ''Casino du Rivage'' in

, 1908

Bibliography

* Tamara Robbiani: ''Marcel Chollet (1855–1924). Un artiste méconnu.'' In: ''monuments vaudois'', Nr. 2, 2011, S. 19–25.Monuments Vaudois

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chollet, Marcel de 1855 births 1924 deaths 19th-century French painters 19th-century Swiss painters Painters from Paris 20th-century French painters Belle Époque