Cuno Amiet

A Swiss artist, sculptor, illustrator and graphic artist, who also created numerous wall paintings. He signed his paintings with the pseudonym Emil Sinclair.

Cuno Amiet was born into the family of an official (state archivist) in the canton of Solothurn, where he began to take painting lessons.

The artist worked in the genres of landscape and portrait. Belongs to the post-impressionist art movement, was a member of the Pont-Aven School, the Nabis group and the Vienna Secession. He was an honorary Doctor of Arts at the University of Berne, as well as an honorary member of the Solothurn Union of Artists, and since 1906 actively participated in the Art Association “The Bridge” (Germany).

Key ideas:

– The huge volume of 70-year-old creative work, which was performed by artist and sculptor Kuno Amie, is diverse. Carried away by one or another style, the Swiss artist retained his unique sense of color harmony. It was based on the French tradition and attention to the national heritage at the same time.

– At the beginning of the 20th century, the artist kept on demonstrating mainly the decorative manner of painting. However, his later works (made in 1940s and 1950s) show a focus on more abstract concepts of both light and space. His painting is characterized by the presence of special color points and pastel shine.

– Of the numerous landscape canvases, images of winter scenes, gardens with an abundance of fruits stand out. Amiet sought and was able to combine monumentality with the simplicity of a shape. Remaining a post-impressionist, he «interspersed» the elements of Expressionism into his paintings, emphasizing his ability to use all those new methods which emerged in fine arts. An example of this is a portrait of writer Hermann Hesse created in 1919 and signed with the pseudonym Emil Sinclair. Greedy and energetic brushstrokes express both the attitude of the artist towards the person depicted and the character of the famous writer.