The house of painter Edouard Vallet
This is a beautiful 18th-century building. A commemorative plaque commemorates the stay of the painter Edouard Vallet in this house.
Very well preserved, it is a typical building of the central Valais. It combines a kitchen and hearth in the masonry with a "pilyo" or large communal room in the wooden section. In the mid-19th century, the large pilyo was used as a classroom. A masonry staircase and porch on the street itself are remnants of the days when traffic was based on the width of the carriages. A 2nd entrance leads to the courtyard, with direct access to the cellar and garden.
Sometimes, as in Evolène, the division between the masonry and timber sections was transverse. However, the functions remained similar.
Edouard Vallet, witness to rural life in Vercorin
After spending time in Riod / Hérémence and Savièse, Vallet, a painter from Geneva, bought this house in 1912. He repaired it and opened up the garden by demolishing a ruined barn, which he replaced with a trellis arbour. On the first floor, he installed a heavy press, which was to produce some of the finest works of the period. A renowned painter and friend of Hodler, Vallet remains the Swiss master of engraving, combining with rare skill all the techniques of intaglio. The Vercorin press produced masterpieces of strength and poetry, with the rural world as their model.
An engraving by Édouard Vallet - "Le troupeau à l'abreuvoir" (The herd at the trough), Vercorin 1913.
This is an etching (a technique using acid to hollow out the plate) using a drypoint (a metal point for engraving, especially for making lines) on a zinc plate. Dimensions: 350 x 318 mm. Monogram ED. V. in a circle. Executed in 3 states: 1. the inside of the pool is reserved; 2. lines added to express the water in the pool, leading to the formation of a few spots; 3. spots erased, water lightened near the reflection of the animals.
The Association Édouard Vallet - Vercorin has brought together all the master's engraved works. Its aim is to bring together friends of the painter and promote his work through studies and exhibitions. More on www.edvallet.com.
