Collection du Musée Alexis Forel

 

 

Deposited in 1988 at the Cantonal Cabinet of Prints by the Musée Alexis Forel in Morges, this collection of Italian, Flemish, and French prints was assembled by the Vaudois Alexis Forel (1852–1922), a chemical engineer who later became an engraver.

 

An art enthusiast, Alexis Forel acquired over the course of his life around one hundred works by the greatest printmakers (Dürer, Rembrandt, Millet, etc.). He collected artists who had elevated the art of printmaking to a noble status. The assembled collection served as a reference tool for him, as he turned to an artistic career rather late—in 1881 he went to Paris to train in etching. He gathered the most representative prints illustrating the various technical questions raised by intaglio engraving. However, Alexis Forel’s eclecticism also led him to take an interest in other techniques such as woodcut and engraving (da Carpi, Dürer). This ensemble, which reveals the collector’s tastes and the artist’s influences, also testifies to his relationships with contemporary printmakers (Millet, Buhot). Expanded after Forel’s death through donations and acquisitions, this collection offers a unique perspective on the history of printmaking from the 16th to the 19th century.

 

President: Claire Nydegger
Director: Dacha Abbet