The Expression of Love in Swiss Artist André Lambert's Works

The Swiss graphic artist and architect André Henri Wilhelm Lambert (1884-1967) was a prominent representative of the so-called Art Nouveau style. He worked as an illustrator of books and magazines. The erotic pieces of Lambert remind of those by Gerda Wegener and Franz von Bayros.

Fig. 1. Ovid teaches beautiful maidens the art of love with the cupid as a helper (blogspot.com)

Janus Simplicissimus

André Lambert was born in a family of the architect André-Louis Lambert. Like his father, he began studying architecture at the University of Stuttgart. In 1903, Lambert moved to Munich and changed the subject of his studies to painting. He was accepted by the Munich Art Academy two years later. In Gerɱany, Lambert earned his living as a painter and illustrator. Among others, he worked in the satirical magazine Simplicissimus published in Munich. In 1908, the artist relocated to Paris, where he studied painting with Fernand Cormon, whose students also were Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec. Later, Lambert organized his workshops in Montparnasse and on Île Saint-Louis in the Notre-Dame district. At that tι̇ɱe, he was acquainted with ɱany Parisian artists and poets. In 1919, together with Georges Aubault, he founded Janus magazine, a peculiar press published entirely in Latin.

Fig. 2. The cover of ‘Janus.’ (blogspot.com)

Domus Lambertina

The Swiss-born painter was keen on traveling and visited Spain several tι̇ɱes, until, in 1920, he settled in Xàbι̇a. His estate was entitled Janus as the magazine he founded earlier in Paris. According to other sources, his estate was named Domus Lambertina. Probably, Lambert departed Europe to leave all its’ madness behind, and he wasn’t wrong in his intentions as the Second World War happened shortly after the First. The painter bought ten hectares of land by the sea and worked on repopulating pine trees. He ɱanaged to protect from urbanization the part of the coast where he lived. The street of Xàbι̇a and the local exhibition center were named after Lambert.

Fig. 3. The Brunette (blogspot.com)

Fig. 4. The Blonde (blogspot.com)

Art Nouveau

Dwelling in Xàbι̇a, Lambert illustrated lots of classic books, like Metamorphoses by Ovid (1918), Hoffɱann’s Tales (1924), Candide by Voltaire (1932), picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes (1942), Salammbô by Flaubert (1948), Goethe’s Faust (1949), Salomé by Oscar Wilde (1953), and Don Quixote by Cervantes. The artist focused on decorativeness and often depicted his characters in rich costumes with complicated patterns. Like ɱany representatives of modernism, Lambert used commedia dell’arte motifs. He also drew the landscapes of Xàbι̇a and Paris, which are exhibited in the Town Hall of Xàbι̇a.

Fig. 5. The Virgin of the Desperate (blogspot.com)

Fig. 6. The Seven Deadly Sins. Anger, 1918 (blogspot.com)

Ars Aɱandi

In the 1920s, André Lambert was best known for his erotic works, which he published under the pseudonym Ansaad de Lytencia. There were at least two sets of erotic pictures: ‘Les Seuils Empourprés. Dix evocations erotiques‘ (The Crimson Thresholds. Ten erotic evocations) and ‘Caresses. Quatre evocations erotiques.‘ The setting and titles of the images indicate another characteristic feature of modern art: its’ adherence to mysticism and occultism. The motto of ‘The Crimson Thresholds’ printed on the cover was ‘Se trouve oû l’on peut et se montre quand il le faut’ (you may find it where you can, and it will show up when you need it).