Charles L'Éplattenier

Swiss Charles L’Éplattenier was a painter and sculptor and one the most important artists of Swiss Art Nouveau. In 1887, he was apprenticed to Peseux as a house painter who advised him to take classes in Neuchâtel, after observing his zeal for drawing and study. Invited by an aunt after the death of his father, L’Éplattenier lived in Budapest and studied at the Decorative Art School where his talent was noticed. He then moved to Paris, where he studied painting, sculpture and architecture at the School of Decorative Arts and the National School of Fine Arts in the studio of Luc-Olivier Merson.

L’Éplattenier was appointed professor at the University of Art and La Chaux-de-Fonds at age 23. Among his pupils was the later famous designer and architect Le Corbusier. At the same time he ran a studio. In 1914, L’Éplattenier resigned from the Art School after the dissolution of the new section which was a continuation of the upper classes. He then explored his creative side, and produced considerable work including painting, sculpture and decorative arts. He also became a member of numerous artist associations. Unlike his own regionally influenced works, L’Éplattenier opened up new paths as a teacher as defined by the Werkbund and as a forerunner of the Bauhaus. In 1946, he was killed in the rocky terrain on the Doubs River near Les Brenets while searching for new vistas to depict.

Both sculptures submitted by L’Éplattenier are presented in the catalog of art competitions. The life-size stone statue of Swiss race walker Jean Linder (1878-1926) stands in front of the castle of Colombier near the shore of Lake Geneva. He was involved in the decoration of the castle in an early phase. The sculpture dates back to 1928 and was donated by the artist in 1939.