Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne

[kerouac2]

The Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts of Lausanne is the centerpiece of the new Plateforme 10 arts district of Lausanne.  (It is called Plateforme 10 because it is adjacent to the central Lausanne train station which posesses 9 platforms.)  The museum moved there in 2019 from the old Palais de Rumine, which was no longer appropriate for adaptations and expansion.  It has both a permanent collection of traditional fine art as well as a modern section.  These are free.  There are also two zones for temporary exhibitions for which one must purchase a ticket.  I was happy to pay to see everything for 15 francs.

I decided to visit the temporary exhibition devoted to Gustave Buchet first.  He was a Swiss artist from the canton, but he spent all of the years between the two wars of the 20th century in Paris, since it was the major art capital back then.  I really didn't know anything about him, although I think I have probably seen some of his paintings at the Orsay.  His style was mostly post-cubism and futurism.  I hope that terms like this amuse you as much as me, because even though I know that art specialists need to be able to label every different style, we don't really care what they call it, do we?

Some of his early works were more along the lines of classic impressionism before he found his own style.

But then he found the style that suited him.

These two men were art professionals and their conversation was total gibberish to me.  And they did not seem to be looking at any of the paintings.

[kerouac2]

This is a photograph of him taken by an artist friend.



The museum was not overcrowded. This is possibly because it was free the day before on the Swiss National Day and was visited by the president.



Buchet also designed a few useful items. Even artists need to eat.









One thing that I liked was that he stuck to the same tones rather than going wild with blue or yellow or red, even if there was a hint from time to time.



Nobody to block my view!

[mickthecactus]

I like him a lot. My sort of artist.

[kerouac2]

This is a post war painting of the ruins of a city, a very shocking sight for anybody visiting from Switzerland.





To get away from the crowd, I moved into the permanent collections.



The St. Bartholomew's day massacre made its mark on Swiss Protestant art.





Portraits and self portraits always fascinate me, compared to the idea of how a photograph would have been.



Family group portraits must have been a real ordeal before the era of snapshots.

[lugg]

I think that I would enjoy looking around and soaking in this place much more than the Olympic museum

[kerouac2]

The majority of the classic paintings were Swiss, which is totally normal.



Our countries never get to see all of these wonderful perspectives. I particularly loved this painting.



The steam coming out of its mouth is absolutely brilliant on this icy Alpine day.



The portraits continued to mesmerize me. I wonder if anthropologists could quickly identify these people as Swiss.









four brothers





still no crowds



She is a bit scary.

[kerouac2]

I really liked some of the quirkiness of Swiss artists.





As a self-respecting major museum, there were of course some works by Matisse, Manet and other Frenchies.





French actor Gaspard Ulliel died young this year in a skiing accident, and I thought this portrait looked very much like him.



Swiss sculptor Giacometti cannot be forgotten in a place like this.





This was amazingly pale. Too pale, in my opinion.

[onlyMark]

I like most of that. But 4th from the bottom looks like a pile of shit with a head. Also 8th from the bottom (simplified Nile river, Arabic crescent and vague Arabic writing, sand and someone trying to seed the desert, watered by a break in the Nile banks) looks like a ten minute lunch time special to make a bit of money. Trading on the name rather than the talent type of thing.

[kerouac2]

more Swiss imagery - this first one is a scene of Ouchy at the lakeside

[kerouac2]

The other floor of the permanent collection was devoted to modern art. This will always engender more divergent opinions.

[kerouac2]

I briefly glanced out a window to make sure that this was indeed platform 10 of the 9-platform station.



The museum received a major donation of 34 Jean Dubuffet works in 2019 by an American couple living in Lausanne.

[bixaorellana]

What a fine museum! It's the kind that really needs to be visited several times, to give each section its due.

His style was mostly post-cubism and futurism. I hope that terms like this amuse you as much as me, because even though I know that art specialists need to be able to label every different style, we don't really care what they call it, do we?

Yes, styles have labels, but those labels are a valuable guide to the period in which the art was created, which is something we would care about in an overall appreciation of art and history. For instance, in #9 you refer to the "modern art" section. That should more accurately be called "contemporary art", since, aside from a few exceptions, the art shown in this excellent report is modern art.

A lot of wonderful stuff, but if I had to pick two favorites, they'd probably be the very last picture and the fifth one from the bottom.

The physical space sedately serves the art. Can you hear or feel the trains inside the museum?

[kerouac2]

Two final ones from the Bernard Buffet section...





Table trash was interesting the first time that somebody glued it on the wall. It stopped being interesting a long time ago, except maybe for a classroom discussion project.





I'm not sure if this is "art," but it's pretty amazing how quickly the mind can fill in the blanks.



Folding seats are available for those who need them to contemplate the artworks longer, probzably when listening to a conference.

[kerouac2]

After the permanent collections, I moved on to the second temporary exhibition "Imaginary Voyages" and more specifically railway phantasms.

[kerouac2]

As I have said in the past, I absolutely love (almost) empty museums.

[fumobici]

It seems to be a nice collection, not pushing boundaries but well curated.

[kerouac2]

I was nearing the end of my visit, and you are absolutely correct, Bixa -- it is a place that needs to be seen more than once. I always go through new places too fast the first time on the assumption that there will be a repeat visit. I do quick trips and cram a lot into them whenever possible. And then I just hope to return to see some of the stuff again. It is not ideal, but it fits my temperament.

There was a working model train set with a few unusual details.



The drive-in movie was actually playing a movie.



And trains were encouraged to stay on the main route rather than trying to take a spur.



There was also some sort of mining asteroid with rails runnning through it.





back down to the entrance



And then it was time to call it quits. Next time I will also visit the photo museum next door. My ticket was actually valid for that, too. Damn!

[tod2]

So much to absorb. I've tried very hard to be open minded about a lot of what I don't like or understand. There are tons of portraits and paintings that appeal to me but they are more of the norm style - if there is such a thing. All I can say is I am so grateful Kerouac brought this exhibition to us.

[mich64]

Although quite abstract for myself, I would still enjoy this exhibit, there seems to be a little something for many people I think.

I always wish there were more benches, they are usually full, and I really enjoy sitting down and just absorbing the pieces in the room.