Art has never been a field of human activity to remain constrained by cultural norms, but that has perhaps been more true in the last century than ever before. Visitors to Lausanne can see some of the best of modern art in a museum dedicated to the ability of human expression to challenge norms, think new thoughts and generally go beyond the boundaries of the conventional. This is exactly what visitors will find at the Collection de l’Art Brut.
Image credit- SailkoLocated in the four-storey Château de Beaulieu on the avenue des Bergieres on the north-western edge of the city centre, the museum was founded in 1976 by French artist Jean Debuffet, who was looking for art that provided a “completely pure artistic operation, raw, brute and entirely reinvented in all of its phases solely by means of the artist’s own impulses”. He was able to find plenty that fitted this bill, and since his initial donations got it up and running the museum has continued to expand, with its collections increasing in size, the establishment of monographic and thematic temporary exhibitions and the publication of books and films. Visitors today can enjoy over 63,000 works by more than 1,000 artists, with around 700 on permanent display.
For fans of non-mainstream art, this will be a fascinating visit, while those more used to conventional styles may still find the different approaches intriguing, just as others may have done in the past when confronted by innovations like surrealism or cubism. Whatever your own views on various styles of art, few will fail to at least be challenged by Debuffet’s notion that “it is possible to obtain more complete and fruitful means of expression through paths altogether distinct from those followed by cultural art”. The museum is open from 11:00 to 18:00 most of the year and entry costs CH10. If you have any interest in art at all, be sure to visit this fascinating place when you stay in Lausanne.
