Finding Chagall in small-town Switzerland

My trip to French-speaking Switzerland the other week had a purpose (beyond making fun of the newspapers, I mean)– our goal was to find art and look at it. Day one was spent in Lausanne, a lovely, hilly town on Lake Geneva, where after a lovely Middle Eastern lunch my friend Ali and I visited the Art Brut museum. ‘Art Brut’ is a term used to encompass a wide variety of outsider art, created by people who lack formal art training, are mentally ill, or are just a little kooky (as if most regular artists didn’t fall into at least one of these categories). The museum was fascinating, as were the biographies of the artists whose works were on display.

We spent the evening in Lausanne and had dinner with some friends, and then retired to our room at the Lausanne Guesthouse. This hostel (which also has private rooms – I’m much too old to sleep in a room with 20 backpackers) was quite a good deal (for Switzerland). Our room had a balcony with a gorgeous view of the lake, which is where we enjoyed breakfast before hopping on the train to Martigny.

Martigny is a tiny town nestled between a couple vineyard-covered mountains. It’s cute enough, but I doubt it would ever see much tourist action if it weren’t for the world-class art exhibits put on by the Foundation Pierre Gianadda. We were sucked in by promises of a large Marc Chagall exhibit, and weren’t disappointed. The exhibition space was… different. It kind of reminded me of a 1970s American church annex or community center. It was surprisingly crowded for a Wednesday morning, but the paintings were worth it.

The complex also has a large sculpture garden (featuring, among other things, a giant thumb and a giant breast). We wandered through this (the garden, not the boob) on our way to the second building which housed a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, featuring models of the some of the great artist’s many inventions, including drawbridges, military tanks, and flying machines. His brilliance always makes me drool. And reminds me to practice my mirror-writing.

We headed back into town and had a late lunch under the chestnut trees on the main square of Martigny before hopping on a train back to Zurich. Mission accomplished.