Léo-Paul Samuel Robert[1] (19 March 1851 - 10 September 1923), also known as Paul Robert, was a Swiss painter, known for his depictions of birds and other wildlife.

Léo-Paul Robert
Born19 March 1851 Edit this on Wikidata
Biel/Bienne Edit this on Wikidata
Died10 October 1923 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 72)
Orvin Edit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
OccupationPainter, illustrator Edit this on Wikidata
Parent(s)
  • Aurèle Robert Edit this on Wikidata

Early life

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Paul Robert was born in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, on 19 March 1851, to Aurèle Robert  [Wikidata],[2] who, like his brother Louis Léopold Robert was a painter.

Paul trained under his father, and then, in 1869, at the Munich Academy of Arts.[2]

After the death of his father in December 1871, he visited Verona, Venice, Ravenna, Bologna and Florence.[2]

Career

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After initially painting allegories, Robert turned his talents next to landscapes, and eventually to watercolours of birds and caterpillars.

His painting Zéphyrs d'un beau soir won a gold medal when exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1877.[3]

From 1886 to 1894, he was responsible for the decoration of the staircase at the Musée des beaux-arts de Neuchâtel (now the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire),[2] comprising three monumental murals; still extant.[4]

He illustrated an edition of Jeremias Gotthelf's 1842 book The Black Spider.[3]

From 1891 to 1897 he was a member of the Swiss Federal Commission of Fine Arts and from 1894 to 1918 of the Commission of the Gottfried Keller Foundation.[3]

In 1900 he made a mosaic mural in glass, "The Age of History", also extant, and featuring the figures of Poetry and History, for the facade of the Bern Historical Museum.[5]

Robert was also ordained as a minister in the protestant tradition.[3]

He died on 10 October 1923 in Orvin, Switzerland.[2]

Legacy

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Three of Robert's sons Théophile [Wikidata], Philippe [Wikidata] and Paul-André [Wikidata] were painters; Paul-André also painted nature subjects.[6]

Several of his works are in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire at Neuchâtel.

The Neues Museum Biel  [Wikidata] houses the 3,000 works of the "Foundation Robert",[6] including hundreds by Paul, and others by the rest of his family.[7]

The street Paul-Robert-Weg[8] in Biel/Bienne is named in his honour.

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Works illustrated

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  • Rambert, Eugene (1916). Les Oiseaux Dans La Nature.

References

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  1. ^ Sometimes written "Leo Paul"
  2. ^ a b c d e "Léo-Paul Robert, peintre suisse (1851-1923)" (in French). Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "1904 Léo-Paul-Samuel Robert Symbolist Painting - Woman w/ Long-necked Lute". Collectors Weekly. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Léo-Paul ROBERT (Biel/Bienne , 1851 - Orvin, 1923)". Stephen Ongpin Fine Art. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Exterior views". Bernisches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Sammlung Stiftung Robert" (in German). Neues Museum Biel. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  7. ^ "NMB – RobLab". www.nmbiel.ch. Neues Museum Biel. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  8. ^ Coordinates for Paul-Robert-Weg: 47°09′05″N 7°15′25″E / 47.15142°N 7.25682°E / 47.15142; 7.25682 (Paul-Robert-Weg)

Further reading

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  • Rivier, Louis (1927). Le peintre Paul Robert: l'homme, l'artiste et l'oeuvre, le novateur (in French). Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé.
  • Jackson, Christine E. (2005). Les oiseaux et leur peintre : Léo-Paul Robert (in French). Bienne: Edition Fondation Collection Robert. ISBN 3-9522989-3-X.
  • Ehrensperger, Ingrid; Girardin-Cestone, Lucie; Gschwend, Hanspeter (2006). Die Welt der Vögel - Werke von Leo-Paul und Paul-Andre Robert (in German). Biel: Bern u. Zürich, Benteli Verlag im Auftrag d. Stiftung Sammlung Robert. ISBN 9783716514016.
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