The Musée de l’Elysée (Lausanne, Switzerland) announced the death of the French-speaking Swiss photographer Marcel Imsand, born in September 15, 1929. He was a great figure of photography in Switzerland and Europe, fro his work as much as his endearing personality.
Marcel Imsand learnt photography by himself. He was known for his portraits and his social reports. In the 1970s, he was entrusted to create The illustrated Encyclopedia of the Pays de Vaud in twelve volumes. He took care of the pharaonic project until 1987, photographing “festivals and carnivals, regions at the fringes of big cities, life and death of popular traditions (and customs fading aaway), and also universes of childhood. ”
Marcel Imsand was also a landscaper. Paying attention to the curves of nature, to the frenzy of cities, whether they be urban and rural landscapes, left a rich and complex heritage behind him, as shown in his series featuring the city of Geneva and its Grand Theater. As an outstanding portraitist, he also immortalized Maurice Béjart or Jacques Brel.
In 2012, Marcel Imsand left his photographic background at the Musée de l’Elysée. The archives contain his negatives and slides, his notes, his proofs, his correspondence, his albums and polaroids.
