EN
Louis Soutter, Ballaigues 1937. © Theo Frey / Fotostiftung Schweiz
Louis Soutter, Ballaigues 1937. © Theo Frey / Fotostiftung Schweiz

Louis Soutter’s pictorial world revolves around elementary themes such as the examination of human nature, death and the question of life after death. The passion of Christ, and in particular the crucifixion, is a central motif that recurs again and again. Louis Soutter’s simple, silhouette-like human figures are portrayed with a sparing use of color, often in black India ink. Their abstract representation lends an almost obsessive, archaic quality. Therefore Soutter employed a very special technique: He applied the colour directly with his finger on the surface after having painted and drawn in pen and ink for more than 15 years. He makes particular use of India ink, gouache, and very occasionally oil on paper. The direct application of colour emphasises the highly expressive character of his work. In the more recent history of art, drawing and painting with one’s fingers was relatively uncommon.

Born 1871 in Morges, Louis Soutter, a cousin of Le Corbusier, studied engineering in Lausanne, architecture in Geneva, violin in Brussels, and painting in Lausanne and in Paris. In 1897 he moved together with his American wife Madge Fursman  to the United States. There he gave private violin and drawing lessons, and he was soon appointed head of the art department at Colorado College. Shortly thereafter he began showing his work in group exhibitions. In 1903 he returned to Morges: his state of health - both physical and mental - worsened steadily. In 1923 he was admitted to a residential care home in Ballaigues, Switzerland, where he spent the remaining 19 years of his life. In those years, isolated from the outside world, he produced an extensive oeuvre of exceptional importance. In particular the Peintures au doigt, which he began creating in 1937 and which were neglected for decades, represent a key position in 20th century art. Louis Soutter passed away in Ballaigues in 1942.

Exhibitions

Publications

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions
2021
Finger Painting

Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany

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2020
Un Présage

Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France

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2015
Louis Soutter – Victor Hugo. Dessins parallèles

Maison Victor Hugo, Paris, France

2012
Louis Soutter, le tremblement de la modernité

La Maison Rouge, Paris, France

2012
Louis Soutter. Drawings

Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris, France

2011
Louis Soutter

Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland

2005
Louis Soutter. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle

Galerie Biedermann, Munich, Germany

2003
Louis Soutter et la musique

Collection de l'Art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland

2002
Louis Soutter et les Modernes

Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland

2002
Louis Soutter et les Modernes

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts and Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland

1999
Louis Soutter. 30 dessins

Musée des Beaux-Arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

1998
Figura dell'anima

Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, Italy

1998
Louis Soutter. Si le soleil me revanait

Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France

1998
Louis Soutter. Fingermalerei 1937 - 42

Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany

1993
Louis Soutter

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland

1991
Louis Soutter. Zeichnungen und Fingermalereien

Galerie Hachmeister, Münster, Germany

1990
Louis Soutter

Galeria Franka Berndt, Paris, France

1990
Louis Soutter

Foundation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, Valais, France, travelled to Musée d’art Moderne, Troyes, France

1990
Louis Soutter. Ausgewählte Zeichnungen

Galerie Schloss Greifenstein, Staad b. Rorschach, Switzerland

1989
Louis Soutter 1871 - 1942, Adolf Wölfli 1864 - 1980

Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, Germany

1988
Louis Soutter

Kunsthaus, Zug, Switzerland

1987
Louis Soutter. L’art commence où finit la vie

Musée Cantini, Marseille, France

1987
Louis Soutter

Galleria Matasci, Tenero, Locarno, Italy

1986
Die Finger malen – Louis Soutter / Arnulf Rainer

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland, travelled to: Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/Main, Germany; Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Wolfgang Gurlitt-Museum, Linz, Germany

1986
Louis Soutter

Kunsthaus, Grenchen, Switzerland

1986
Louis Soutter. Carico di destino

Villa Faraldi, Imperia, Italy; travelled to: Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, Genua, Italy; Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy

1985
Louis Soutter. Zeichnungen, Bücher, Fingermalerei

Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany; travelled to: Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany; Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany; arteba edition, Zurich, Switzerland

1983
Louis Soutter

Musée Alexis Forel, Morges, Switzerland

1982
Louis Soutter. Werke von 1923 - 1942

Galerie Knoedler, Zurich, Switzerland

1978
Louis Soutter. Un voyages au bout de la nuit

Galerie Engelberts, Geneva, Switzerland

1976
Louis Soutter. Zeichnungen

LOEB-Galerie, Bern, Switzerland

1976
Louis Soutter

Galerie Dédale, Geneva, Switzerland

1976
Louis Soutter

Galerie Schreiner, Basel, Switzerland

1976
Louis Soutter

Galerie Dédale, Geneva, Switzerland

1976
Louis Soutter

Galerie Schreiner, Basel, Switzerland

1974
Louis Soutter. Huiles et dessins

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland

1974
Rétrospective Louis Soutter

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland; travelled to: Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Schweiz; Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna, Austria; Kulturhaus Graz, Graz, Austria; Wasserschloss, Bochum, Germany; Ulmer Museum, Ulm, Germany; Museum voor schone kunsten, Ghent, Netherlands; Sala delle Asse, Castello Sforzesco, Milan, Italy; Musée d’Art Moderne da la Ville de Paris, Paris, France; Palacio de Esposiciones de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain; Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland
 

1974
Louis Soutter 1871 – 1942. 70 Zeichnungen aus der Sammlung Le Corbusier

Heidi Weber / Le Corbusier Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
 

1973
Louis Soutter

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado Springs, USA

1972
Louis Soutter

Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne, Germany

1972
Louis Soutter. 30 dessins des ›Cahiers‹

Galerie L’Entracte, Lausanne, Switzerland

1972
A show of Colour

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland

1972
Aquarelles et dessins

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland

1971
De Courbet à Vasarely

Manoir de Martigny, Martigny, Valais, France

1971
La peinture contemporaine dans les collections vaudoises

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland
 

1971
Exposition

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland
 

1971
Peintres vaudois

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland

1971
Rencontre avec l’art suisse

Le Manoir, Martigny, Valais, France

1971
D’après

Rassegna internazionale delle arti et della cultura, Lugano, Switzerland
 

1970
L’estampe en Suisse

Ringling Museum, Sarasota, FL, USA; travelled to: Central Connecticut State College, New Britain, CT, USA; Fine Art Centre, Colorado Springs, CO, USA; Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, TN, USA; Embassy of Switzerland, Washington, D.C., USA; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland
 

1969-79
Louis Soutter

Centre de Culture, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

1968
Louis Soutter (1871 – 1942). Un ensemble inédit d’œuvre maîtresses provenant d’une collection privée des USA. Dessins de la periode ›maniériste‹, planches ›au oigt‹ encre et couleures

Galerie Alice Pauli, Lausanne, Switzerland

1966-67
Eröffnungsausstellung

Galerie Römerhof, Zurich. Switzerland

1966
Louis Soutter. Exposition

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland

1963
Louis Soutter

Galerie Walcheturm, Zurich, Switzerland

1963
Louis Soutter

Galleria Notizie, Turin, Italy

1962
Louis Soutter

Este Gallery, New York, NY, USA

1962
Meisterzeichnungen

Kunstmuseum Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland

1962
Louis Soutter, 1871 – 1942

Galerie Benador, Geneva, Switzerland

1961-62
Retrospektive Louis Soutter

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland; travelled to: Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland; Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany; Städtische Kunsthalle, Recklinghausen, Germany; Braunschweiger Kunstverein, Braunschweig, Germany; Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany
 

1955
Louis Soutter

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland

1951
Louis Soutter

Galerie Moos, Zurich, Switzerland

1943
Louis Soutter

La Guilde du Livre, Lausanne, Switzerland

1939
Louis Soutter

Wehye Gallery, New York, NY, USA

1937
Louis Soutter

Galerie Paul Vallotton, Lausanne, Switzerland

1936
Louis Adolphe Soutter

Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartfort, CT, USA

Group exhibitions
2022
Traverser la nuit. Works from the Antoine de Galbert collection

MAAT - Museum of Art, Artchitecture and Technology, Lisbon, Portugal

2019
Friends, etc

La Collection Pierre Keller, Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland

2019-21
Picasso – Gorsky – Warhol. Sculptures and works on paper from the Hubert Looser Collection

Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

2019-20
Atlas. Cartographie du don

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, Switzerland

2018
Wild Thing. Swiss Art of the 1980s

Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland

2018-19
Winter Show

Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland

2016
Basquiat, Dubuffet, Soulages… A Private Collection

Fondation de l’Hermitage, Lausanne, Switzerland

2015
Accrochage

Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland

2015
On the Border

Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland

2014
Accrochage

Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland

2011
Sous le vent de l'Art Brut - Collection Charlotte Zander

Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France

2011
Parcours d'un galeriste. François Ditesheim

Musée des beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

2011
Zettels Traum

Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany

2010
La maison et l’infini - La collection de Christian Zacharias

Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne, Switzerland

2010
November Blues

Hachmeister Galerie, Münster, Germany

2010
Gipfeltreffen der Moderne. Das Kunstmuseum Winterthur

Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

2010
Modern Times: responding to chaos

Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK

2009
On paper

Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France

2009
Hespérides III. Retour à Eden

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland

2008
Series Drawings

Michael Werner Gallery, New York, USA

2008
Ad Absurdum

MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany

2007
Swiss Made 1

Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany

2007
Der unendliche Raum dehnt sich aus

Kolumba Kunstmuseum des Erzbistums, Cologne, Germany
 

2006
Wahnsinn Sammeln

Ernst Barlach Haus, Hamburg, germany; weitere Station: Sammlung Prinzhorn, Nuremberg, Germany

 

2006
Arbeiten auf Papier

Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, Germany

2005-06
Internationale Zeichner

Galerie Biedermann, Munich, Germany

2005-06
De Picasso a Basquiat

Musée Maillol - Fondation Dina Vierny, Paris, France
 

2005
Im Rausch der Kunst

Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany

2004
Onbegrensd. Unbegrenzt

Hachmeister Galerie, Münster, Germany

2004
Accrochage aus den Beständen der Galerie

Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, Germany

2004
Munch, Nolde, Beckmann …Private Kunstschätze aus Süddeutschland

Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

2003-21
Expressiv

Fondation Beyeler, Riehen (Basel), Switzerland

2002-03
Meisterwerke der graphischen Sammlung

Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
 

2002
Johann Hauser & Louis Soutter. Aus einer anderen Welt

Fischer Kunsthandel 6 Edition, Berlin, Allemagne
 

2002
Durch 150 Jahre in Schwarz – Weiß

Hachmeister Galerie, Münster, Germany

2001
L’Attrait du trait

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland

2001
Obsession – Sammlung Klewan

Galerie Klewan, Hanover, Germany; travelled to: Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany

2001
Erzählende Linien

Museum im Lagerhaus, St. Gallen, Switzerland

2000
Solitärer. Särlingskonst från Samling Eternod-Mermod

Konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden; travelled to: Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm, Sweden

 

2000
Surreale Welten. Meisterwerke aus einer Privatsammlung

Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; travelled to: Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal, Germany; Kunsthalle, Tübingen, Germany
 

2000
Making Choices

MoMA, New York City, NY, USA

2000
Dialog über Jahrhunderte. Erwerbungen und Stiftungen 1990 – 2000

Neue Pinakothek, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, Germany
 

2000
Beyond Borders. Kunst zu Grenzsituationen

Coninx Museum, Zurich, Switzerland

1999
Musée en fête. L’art suisse dans les collections du Musée Jenisch de 1875 à 1950

Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland

1999
Le corps évanoi, les images subites

Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland

1997
Berge, Blicke, Belvedere. Kunst in der Schweiz von der Aufklärung bis zur Moderne aus dem Aargauer Kunsthaus

Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt a. Main, Germany
 

1997
Kunst & Wahnsinn

Kunstforum, Vienna, Austria

1997
Cinq siécles de dessins

Musée Jenisch, Vevey, France

1996
Chaos, Wahnsinn. Permutationen der zeitgenössischen Kunst

Kunsthalle Krems, Krems, Austria
 

1992
Parallel Visions. Modern Artists and Outsider Art

Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA; weitere Station: Kunsthalle, Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofìa, Madrid, Spain; Setayaga Museum, Tokyo, Japan
 

1991
Visonäre Schweiz

Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland; travelled to: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Stätische Kunsthalle und Kunstverein für Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany

1990
Ipotesi Helvetia. Un certo espressionismo

Galleria civica d’arte moderna, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy; Pinacoteca di Casa Rusca, Locarno, Italy
 

1989
Open Mind

Museum van Hedendaase Kunst, Antwerpen, Belgium
 

1989
Experiment Seele

Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, Vienna, Austria

1988
Outsiders. An Exhibition of Art brut

Kunsthaus St. Alban AG, Basel, Switzerland

1987

Neue Galerie, Wolfgang Gurlitt-Museum, Linz, Austria

1981
Dreissiger Jahre Schweiz

Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

1981
Louis Soutter, Adolf Wölfli. Zwei Schlüsselfiguten der ›Art brut‹

Galerie Kornfeld, Zurich, Switzerland

1979
Outsiders

Hayward Gallery, London, Great Britain; travelled to: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark; Liljevachs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
 

1971
Dessins siusses du XXe siècle

Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, Germany; travelled to: Kunstmuseum Wintertur, Winterthur, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland; Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, Germany; Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel, Germany; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Lausanne, Switzerland; Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
 

1968
Fünf Waadtländer Künstler

Galerie des XX. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, Germany

1968
Collections privées fribourgeoises

Musée d’Art et d’Historie, Fribourg, Switzerland

1966-67
Kunst der Nicht-Integrierten

Galerie Obere Zäune, Zurich, Switzerland

1966-67
Obrist, Soutter, Niestlé

Berner Kunstmuseum, Bern, Switzerland

1966-67
Fünf Waadtländer Künstler. René Auberjonois, Marius Borgeaud, Louis Soutter, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Félix Vallotton,

Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland; travelled to: Galerie des XX. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, Germany
 

1966
Zeichnungen Schweizer Künstler

Kunstverein der Stadt Solothurn, Solothurn, Switzerland

1966
Phantastische Kunst, Surrealismus

Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland

1965
Selbstbildnis Schweizer Maler

Galerie am Stadelhofen, Zurich, Switzerland

1964
Art Suisse au XXe Siècle

Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland

1962-63
Chefs d’oeuvre de l’art romand 1850 - 1950

Musée du Vieux-Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; travelled to: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Fribourg, Switzerland; Galerie de l’Ecole sécondaire, Moutier, Switzerland

1962-63
Meisterzeichnungen. René Auberjonois, Alberto Giacometti, Robert Schüch, Louis Soutter

Kunstmuseum, Luzern, Schweiz

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