MUSEE
DE L’ELYSEE
Photography Museum of Lausanne
The
Musée d' l’Elysée is an exhibition space completely
devoted to photography in Lausanne, Switzerland with more than one
hundred thousand original prints from the 19th and 20th centuries
representing
international photographers such as John Phillips, Francis Firth, Marco
Giacomelli on permanent exhibit rotating through the archive, with
temporary shows of selected artists or themes, like the exhibition in 2011, which featured the life, work and spirit
of Italian master filmmaker Federico Fellini.
Elysee Mansion
The
Musée de l’Elysée is housed in a former elegant
mansion in the area of the city called the Little Ouchy, located just
above and behind the museum of the Olympic
Museum, in lush park grounds overlooking the shores of Lake Geneva
(see Olympic
Museum). The house
was built in
1782, designed by Swiss architect Abraham Fraisse for a military officer,
Henri de Mollins, serving in a Dutch royal army regiment stationed in
Lausanne while still under the control of the Bern, before becoming the
capital of the independent canton of Vaud in 1803 during the Napoleaonic
period. The last decade of the 1700’s saw a number of impressive
manors being built on the outskirts of Lausanne, mainly for use as summer
residences, a few of them now museums (see Foundation
L’Hermitage).
The mansion was christened L’Elysée in 1834 by its later
owner, the Swiss banker, William Haldimand. Among the famous guests who
visited at the house was wealthy artistic patron, author and nemesis
of Napoleon, the Madame de Staël, who presented a performances of
the French tragic play Andromaque in the salon in 1807 and whose own
great house can be visited further down the lake in Geneva (see Chateau
Coppet). The Elysee mansion’s first association with photography
was when it was owned by local aristocrat Adrien Rebecque-Constant, who
became fascinated with the early technology of Daguerre and became one
of Europe’s most ardent pioneers of photography, working under
the nom de plume, Constant Delessert, to remove the vestige of aristocracy
from the most democratic of art forms.
The
property was purchased by the Canton of Vaud in 1971, restored and
transformed into a museum to house the state collection of photographic
prints. Much of the original collection was transferred to Vevey, (see Vevey
Camera Museum and Vevey
History Museum) with the foundation of the Musée
de l’Elysée in 1985 for the collection, preservation
and presentation of the historical and aesthetic development of photographic
expression. The museum hosts rotating theme exhibitions and historical
retrospectives presenting the diversity of photographic art.
Visiting the Musee d' L’Elysee Lausanne
The museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday 11am to 6pm. Admission is free. The museum is about a 10 minute walk from the main train station, along the Avenue de l’Elysée, opposite the Montchoisi skating rink and swimming pool. Or can be reached by following the lake shore from Ouchy and walking up through the gardens of the Olympic Museum or by bus from the city center, bus lines 2, 4, and 8. The café at the L’Elysee has been recently renovated. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Web Info
Musee d' L'Elysee
These
articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel
Europe and WLPV, LLC. and
may not be copied or reprinted without permission. Young Fellini
photo courtesy Musee L'Elesee.
SEE
ALSO:
ALIMENTARIUM FOOD MUSEUM - VEVEY
MARTIN BODMER FOUNDATION LIBRARY - GENEVA
CHATEAU DE VILLA WINE MUSEUM & TRAIL - SIERRE
CHATEAU
MORGES MILITARY MUSEUM
