Casimir Reymond | 1911
Pencil and pastel on paper | 34.5 x 63.4 cm
La Grenette period
Characters
Inventory CR-107 | Private Collection, Switzerland
Photo: François De Grandi
Artistic features
Subject:
Casimir pursues here a passion he has had since his childhood: that of sketching on the subject, in particular the actors of the rural world where he was born, or as here the trognes met at the café - would it be the Café du Commerce at the Place du Mollard in Geneva?
Composition:
The slightly off-centre symmetry of the two protagonists in the foreground directs the setting of the whole, which is made up of the two other elements of this composition: the crowd, and the arcades in the background, whose rhythm underpins the horizontal sequence of the characters, in the manner of a travelling film.
Medium:
One feels the urgency to sketch the truth of this moment: the line is fast, repeated, insistent, even rough, in order to restore even the hubbub of the scene. The touches of white pastel reveal the presence of the female characters.
Background
Period:
1911: Casimir has been studying at the Geneva School of Fine Arts for two years. We can see here that he does not waste his time and applies himself to his art even in his spare time. Did he already know that he would exhibit 180 works at the Grenette in Lausanne two years later, without having completed his studies, disappointed by the teaching, which was too conventional for his taste, at this art school then renowned throughout Europe?
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