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 past away in Ballaigues in 1942.
Exhibitions
Publications
Works
Exhibitions
Maison Victor Hugo, Paris, France
La Maison Rouge, Paris, France
Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Galerie Biedermann, Munich, Germany
Collection de l'Art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts and Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland
Musée des Beaux-Arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France
Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, Italy
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Galerie Hachmeister, Münster, Germany
Galeria Franka Berndt, Paris, France
Galerie Schloss Greifenstein, Staad b. Rorschach, Switzerland
Foundation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, Valais, France, travelled to Musée d’art Moderne, Troyes, France
Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, Germany
Kunsthaus, Zug, Switzerland
Galleria Matasci, Tenero, Locarno, Italy
Musée Cantini, Marseille, France
Villa Faraldi, Imperia, Italy; travelled to: Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, Genua, Italy; Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy
Kunsthaus, Grenchen, Switzerland
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland, travelled to: Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/Main, Germany; Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz, Wolfgang Gurlitt-Museum, Linz, Germany
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany; travelled to: Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany; Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany; arteba edition, Zurich, Switzerland
Musée Alexis Forel, Morges, Switzerland
Galerie Knoedler, Zurich, Switzerland
Galerie Engelberts, Geneva, Switzerland
Galerie Dédale, Geneva, Switzerland
Galerie Schreiner, Basel, Switzerland
LOEB-Galerie, Bern, Switzerland
La Collection Pierre Keller, Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland
Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
Fondation de l’Hermitage, Lausanne, Switzerland
Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany
Musée des beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne, Switzerland
Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
Hachmeister Galerie, Münster, Germany
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, USA