Henri Dobler (1863–1941) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

art collector, painter, poet and art critic. He is best known for refurbishing the Pavillon Vendôme in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, from 1906 to 1914.

Biography

Early life

Henri Dobler was born in 1863 in Switzerland. His parents sold silk and textiles in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

.Le Pavillon Vendôme rend justice à Henri Dobler
''

La Provence ''La Provence'' is a French language daily newspaper published in Marseille, France. History and profile In 1997 ''La Provence'' was created in Marseille from the merger of two daily newspapers, '' Le Provençal'' of former Interior Minister Ga ...

'', September 02, 2012

Adult life

He started his career in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. In 1895, he gave up on his military ambitions and focused on art. He started collecting art, wrote a poetry book, and started painting. His paintings dealt with mythology and romanticism. However, it is thought that his paintings were not very successful because of a personal and vocal rift he had with

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

, whose work he called "dirty paintings" and "the biggest scam of the century". In 1906, he purchased the Pavillon Vendôme in Aix-en-Provence and refurbished it until 1914. He also took pains to add furniture specifically from Provence to the house. Meanwhile, he also wrote books about the history of architecture in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.Nathalie Ferrand, ''Locus in Fabula: La Topique de L'espace Dans Les Fictions Françaises D'Ancien Régime'', Peeters Publishers, 2004, p. 61

/ref> Hubert de Courcy painted his portrait.

Death

He died in 1941.

Bibliography

*''La Petite Sirène'' (1899) *''La maison de rêve'' (1900) *''Les Vestiges des architectures et des arts décoratifs provençaux aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles à Aix-en-Provence'' (1910) *''Les Vestiges des architectures et des arts décoratifs provençaux aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles à Marseille'' (1913) *''Six mois de journalisme indépendant en province'' (1922) *''Le cadre de la vie mondaine à Aix-en-Provence aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles: Boudoirs et jardins'' (1928)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobler, Henri 1863 births 1941 deaths People from Aix-en-Provence Swiss art collectors 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss painters 20th-century Swiss poets 20th-century male writers Swiss male poets Swiss non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers 19th-century Swiss male artists 20th-century Swiss male artists