Information
Landmark: Collection de l'Art BrutCity: Lausanne
Country: Switzerland
Continent: Europe
Collection de l'Art Brut, Lausanne, Switzerland, Europe
Overview
In Lausanne, Switzerland, the Collection de l'Art Brut showcases “outsider art” - vivid, unpolished pieces made by creators far from the usual art world.In the 1940s, French artist Jean Dubuffet coined the term *art brut* to describe work made by people far outside the art world-psychiatric patients, prisoners, and self-taught visionaries-who painted or carved for themselves alone, untouched by conventional styles.In the 1940s, Jean Dubuffet started gathering pieces of art brut, picking up rough, unpolished works that felt raw in his hands.He loved art that bared its soul-messy brushstrokes, uneven lines-and dove into personal truths without trying to please anyone or chase the latest trend.In 1971, Dubuffet gave his entire art brut collection to Lausanne, a gift that, five years later, sparked the opening of the Collection de l'Art Brut, where rough-textured canvases still line the walls.The 18th‑century Château de Beaulieu held the collection, its tall windows and worn stone walls perfectly suiting such a varied, unconventional body of work.The museum showcases thousands of works-drawings smudged with charcoal, bold splashes of paint on canvas, intricate sculptures, and striking mixed-media creations.The collection features remarkable outsider artists such as Aloïse Corbaz, whose vivid, romantic drawings-rich with swirling lines and bursts of crimson-were created during her years in a psychiatric hospital; Adolf Wölfli, famed for densely patterned illustrations laced with musical notes and fragments of his life story, all composed while confined in a Swiss asylum; and Henry Darger, a reclusive hospital janitor who spent decades crafting a sprawling, illustrated saga of fantastical wars between children and strange, otherworldly creatures.The Collection de l’Art Brut presents these works through both permanent displays and rotating exhibitions.The permanent exhibition showcases standout pieces from Dubuffet’s first collection, while the changing displays might spotlight a single artist or explore a theme in depth, drawing visitors closer to the colors, textures, and stories of outsider art.The Collection de l’Art Brut broke new ground in championing outsider art, sparking museums worldwide to value and safeguard creations by artists who might have remained in the shadows, like a weathered sketch tucked away in an attic.It’s proof of how creativity can be both self-expression and survival, giving you a raw, unfiltered look into the minds of artists who work far beyond society’s rules.The museum draws people in with its devotion to authenticity and the rich inner lives of individuals, welcoming everyone from art lovers studying brushstrokes under soft light to scholars, psychology buffs, and seekers of the human spirit.
