Jura

In order to offer a dialogue with Henrik Spohler’s photographs, the MBAL is pleased to present an exhibition of early 20th-century landscapes by Swiss painter Charles L’Eplattenier. Born in Neuchâtel in 1874, L’Eplatte­nier trained in Budapest and later Paris before returning to Switzerland at age 23 and settling in La Chaux-de-Fonds. From a young age, the Jura region had been among his favorite subjects, and he never grew tired of its infinite variations in different lights and seasons. He was able to capture the natural majesty of his surroundings, particularly the movement of water, a major theme in his work: the winding Doubs River soon became a recurring motif. No matter the genre – whether portraiture, patriotic, allegorical or religious – he took an original, singular approach to the Jura landscape in hopes of ri­valing the work of Ferdinand Hodler. L’Eplattenier, a prolific creator, painter, sculptor and architect, proved even more influential as a pedagogue, making a decisive impact on the career of one Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, later known as Le Corbusier.