Alexis Forel

1852 Lully near Morges – 1922 Morges

Having trained as a chemist, Swiss-born Alexis Forel first engaged in artistic activities in the early 1880s. In 1881 he moved to Paris, where he occupied the studio formerly used by Eugène Delacroix and made friends, among others, with Félix Hilaire Buhot. Forel’s oeuvre consists for the most part of etchings, which he often made after nature, featuring picturesque scenes from Paris, Brittany and the environs of Lausanne. His printed oeuvre, which reflects the influence of works by Charles Meryon, quickly found favour in Paris. Between 1882 and 1890 he regularly exhibited his works at the Paris Salon and his prints began to be issued by various publishers, among them the prominent New York art dealer, Frederick Keppel. However, a serious illness brought his promising career to an abrupt end, the para­lysis he suffered subsequently restricting his activities to those of an art critic.