Académie Suisse
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The Académie Suisse () was a very popular, informal art school founded by Martin François Suisse (1781–1859)From Filae.com, 23 juin 2021. Source: Registres journaliers d'inhumation des cimetières parisiens. Les documents d'origine sont consultables sur le site des Archives de Paris, archives.paris.fr: Registres d'inhumations – Archives de Paris –Sépulture, Inhumation: Cimetière de Montparnasse (14e), Martin François Suisse, Novembre 1859, p. 17 (pp. 1–194) in 1815, and was located at the corner of the Quai des Orfévres (No. 4) and the Boulevard du Palais, in Paris, France. From Delacroix to Cézanne, most major French artists frequented this venue to meet colleagues and to study after male and female models.


History


Early years

Martin François Suisse started his career as a baker or baker's apprentice, but then took up a career as artist's model. As D’Ivol notes, he posed for the celebrated artist
Pierre-Narcisse Guérin Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter, born in Paris. Biography A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three ''grands prix'' offered in 1796, in consequence of the competitio ...
(1774–1833) in 1796. Suisse was also, according to Monneret, a former model for the great, classicist, artist
Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
(1748–1825). He, ‘Le Suisse’, posed some 39 times for the great man in the years 1811–1815. Suisse's life as a model was interrupted by the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
(1803–1815). In the latter years of the hostilities, he became a sailor, probably a conscripted marine. He was captured and imprisoned on a miserable prison hulk, most likely moored at Plymouth and was later moved to the infamous Dartmoor Prison, close by. Upon his release and repatriation, he returned to Paris where he resumed being a model. It was said that most of the figures in
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 â€“ 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
's (1798–1863) ‘The Barque of Dante’, also called ‘Dante and Virgil in Hell’ by some, were painted from Suisse, in which case he was still modelling up to 1822 when the painting was completed. In the meantime, the year 1815 saw him open the art academy that was to make his name.


Suisse's Academy

The academy was located in a squalid, red house, 4 Quai des Orfévres, where a sombre corridor led to very old, well-worn and dirty stairs that took one up to the front door on the second floor. Here, Suisse fitted out a rented apartment, where a large room served as an art studio and the remaining two rooms became his personal living quarters. The studio was not attractive in appearance, but was fairly well-lit by a '' quinquet'' with twenty lamps; an amphitheater of eighty stools or benches was more-or-less occupied according to the season, but one never saw very many empty seats. The increasingly nicotine-stained walls were covered with academies left in payment of a month in arrears by impoverished art students. The Académie Suisse was much smaller and more informal than the
École des Beaux Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
, where many students went on to continue their studies. The registration or attendance fee was modest; in 1850 students paid 5 US dollars/month (25 francs). Any artist could attend the academy to paint, draw or sculpt in their chosen media. Suisse provided a male model for three weeks of the month and a female for the remaining week. Paying fees meant that the cost of models could be shared collectively, which was a great aid to students who had little money. Some students would visit the morgue, just a few yards away from the Suisse's door on the Quai, towards the
Pont Saint-Michel Pont Saint-Michel () is a bridge linking the Place Saint-Michel on the Rive Gauche, left bank of the river Seine River, Seine to the Île de la Cité. It was named after the nearby chapel of Saint-Michel. It is near Sainte Chapelle and the Pal ...
. Here, they could observe the anatomy of fresh corpses at no cost whatsoever. Besides the support and advice of their fellow artists, there was no tuition as such at the Académie Suisse. However, Suisse was a drawing-master and could also offer advice when posing the model. He was a jovial, knowledgeable and helpful man, much loved and admired by his "students". He enjoyed regaling them with anecdotes of the artists he had sat for and the paintings he had seen created, and would often entertain them by reciting classical literature. In artistic circles, he was affectionately known as "Le Père Suisse". Influential individuals such as museum curators and art professors would frequently pay visits, such was the acclaim of the academy and the respect for its proprietor. Suisse's access to young, talented artists also gave him an excellent position from which to become an art dealer. He would buy their works cheaply and sell them on at a considerably elevated price. There were numerous artists, but Nicolas François Octave Tassaert (1800–1874) was one of those whose works contributed the most to Suisse's fortune. In 1858, Suisse retired and left his academy to his nephew Charles Alexandre Suisse (1813-1871), while remaining an honorary professor. However, it was the artist Etiènne Prosper Crébassol (1806–1883)From Filae.com, 8 juillet 2021. Archives Départementales de Paris –Décès, 4 juin 1883, Paris 9EME (Paris, Paris), Individu concerné: Etienne Prosper CREBASSOL, No. 878 NB.: Sépulture, 5 juin 1883, Cimetière parisien de Saint-Ouen (93) ((Saint-Ouen) Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis), Inhumation. that soon took on the ownership, certainly the running, of the academy, renaming it l’Academie Suisse-Crébassol. Suisse died in 1859 at his home, 78 years old. He had known and befriended many artists, and many would have attended his funeral. However, before he died, he asked that only his family attend, as artists' time was precious and he had no desire to disturb them. This instruction and his modest savings, he left to a niece who had been very close and helpful. Passe writes that in 1876, the ''Ateliers de Dessin et de Peinture'', were more-or-less limited to Julian's Academy in the Passage des Panoramas (see Crombie) and Crébassol's insufficient, little course in rue Gît-le-Cœur. He makes no mention of the renowned Académie Colarossi (see below), which must mean it had not been opened. It would seem that Crébassol had moved the school to No. 12, rue Gît-le-Cœur, 6th Arrondissement, over the river from the Quai des Orfèvres. Passe further states that two years later in 1879 the aged Crébassol sold his studio to the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi (1841–1906) for the sum of 500 fr. Crébassol was by this time 73 years old and was presumably no longer able and/or willing to maintain his academy any longer. He died at home in 1883. Colarossi wanted to start his own professional art academy and had, through hard work and economy, saved the required funds. In 1880, Colarossi moved his acquisition to a newly built, six studio complex in the courtyard of No. 10, Rue de la Grande Chaumière (6th Arrondissement) in Montparnasse, then a hive of artistic activity. He renamed it the
Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...
, a very successful, fee-funded school that offered expert tuition to male and female students from all over the world. While Colarossi and his academy went from strength to strength, Suisse's considerable contributions to art were slowly forgotten. No monument or plaque was placed to remind Paris and its visitor of this remarkable man. The memory of his existence was further dimmed when in 1905, the block of buildings including 4 Quai des Orfèvres was expropriated and demolished to make way for the extension of the Palais de Justice in 1906. Despite this, the memory and gratitude of artists persisted. An attempt was made by ex-students to rekindle a flame of remembrance. In a meeting at the Académie Colarossi in 1913, the "Société Internationale des Anciens Élèves des Académies Suisse-Crebassol-Colarossi" was formed. Its president was the renowned sculptor
Jean Antoine Injalbert Jean-Antoine Injalbert (; 3 February 1845 – 20 January 1933) was a French sculptor. Life The son of a stonemason, Injalbert was a pupil of Augustin-Alexandre Dumont and won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1874. At the Exposition Universelle ( ...
(1845–1933) and its aim was to hold exhibitions by former students, both in France and abroad. The society proposed to celebrate the contributions of the three schools to the world of art and promote the works of their students. Sadly, the initiative seems to have failed, perhaps due to the advent of the First World War.


Notable students

*
David d'Angers Pierre-Jean David (12 March 1788 – 4 January 1856) was a French sculptor, medalist and active freemason.Initiated in ""Le Père de famille"" Lodge in Angers He adopted the name David d'Angers, following his entry into the studio of the painter ...
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Jean Béraud Jean Béraud (; January 12, 1849 – October 4, 1935) was a French painter renowned for his numerous paintings depicting the life of Paris, and the nightlife of Paris society. Pictures of the Champs Elysees, cafés, Montmartre and the banks of th ...
(1849–1935) *
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(1802–1828) *
Eugène-Ferdinand Buttura Eugène-Ferdinand Buttura (1812–1852) was a French historical landscapist. Life The son of the poet Antonio Buttura, he was born in Paris in 1812. He began his studies in the atelier of Bertin, from which he went to that of Paul Delaroche ...
(1812–1852) *
Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...
(1823–1889) *
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(1854–1912) *
Eugène Carrière Eugène Anatole Carrière (; 16 January 1849 – 27 March 1906) was a French Symbolist artist of the fin-de-siècle period. Carrière's paintings are best known for their near-monochrome brown palette and their ethereal, dreamlike quality. ...
(1849–1906) *
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...
(1839–1906) *
Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...
(1864–1943) *
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 â€“ 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...
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Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
(1819–1877) *
Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (; 21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught many notable contemporary figures of the art world, such as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chava ...
(1815–1879) *
Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 ...
(1808–1879) *
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 â€“ 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
(1798–1863) *
Michel Martin Drolling Michel Martin Drolling (7 March 1786 – 9 January 1851) was a Neoclassicism, neoclassic French painter noted especially as a History painting, painter of history and portraitist. Biography He was born in Paris. There, he began painting under th ...
(1786–1851) * Charles Auguste Émile Duran (Carolus-Duran) (1837–1917) * Achille Emperaire (1829–1898) * François-Louis Français (1814–1897) * Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (1791–1824) * Jean François Gigoux (1806–1894) *
Armand Guillaumin Armand Guillaumin (; February 16, 1841 – June 26, 1927) was a French Impressionist painter and lithographer. Biography Early years Born Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin in Paris, he worked at his uncle's lingerie shop while attending even ...
(1841–1927) *
Alfred Guillou Alfred Guillou (12 September 1844, Concarneau - 1926, Concarneau) was a French painter of Breton heritage. Biography His father was a fisherman and farmer who served as mayor of Concarneau for fifteen years.
(1844–1926) *
Jean-Jacques Henner Jean-Jacques Henner (5 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects and portraits. Biography Henner was born at Bernwiller (Alsace). He began his stud ...
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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 â€“ 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
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(1803–1886) *
Henry Lerolle Henry Lerolle (3 October 1848 – 22 April 1929) was a French painter, art collector and patron, born in Paris. He studied at Académie Suisse and in the studio of Louis Lamothe. His work was exhibited at the Salon (Paris), Paris Salon in 1868, ...
(1848–1929) *
Maximilien Luce Maximilien Luce (; 13 March 1858 â€“ 6 February 1941) was a French Neo-impressionist artist, known for his paintings, graphic art and his anarchist activism. Starting as a wood-engraver, he subsequently concentrated on painting, first as a ...
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Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French academic painter and sculptor. He became famous for his depictions of Napoleon and his military sieges and manoeuvres in paintings acclaimed both for the artist's mas ...
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Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 â€“ 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...
(1840–1926) * Francisco Oller (1833–1917) *
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(1830–1903) * Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (1804–1860) * Emile Schuffenecker (1851–1934) * Philippe Solari (1840–1906) * Louis Charles Auguste Steinheil (1814–1885)


Notes

# Some sources give Suisse's forename as Charles. However, it appears he was in fact named Martin François. #5 US dollars had the same buying power as 168 current US dollars.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academie Suisse Art schools in France Defunct art schools