Art Brut Collection in Lausanne

In his search for art freed of cultural and social conditioning, Jean Dubuffet enthusiastically turned to creations outside the mainstream, in which he perceived a “completely pure artistic operation, raw, brute, and entirely reinvented in all of its phases solely by means of the artist’s own impulses”.

Inaugurated in Lausanne in 1976, the Collection de l’Art Brut came into being thanks to this French artist’s generous donation of works to the city.
Since opening to the public in 1976, the Collection de l’Art Brut has continued to expand by:

• greatly enriching its collections
• setting up benchmark monographic and thematic temporary exhibitions
• publishing numerous books and documentary films
• collaborating on national and international levels

Today, the museum boasts over 63,000 works by 400 creators. Some 700 works are permanently on display in the galleries of the Château de Beaulieu — a four-storey venue specially conceived to house creations by major figures in the realm of Art Brut.

Heir to a unique collection of international renown, the Collection de l’Art Brut is deeply committed to discovering, researching and preserving this art on the fringes of mainstream artistic practices.
The Parti de l’Art Brut, an association of the friends of the Collection de l’Art Brut, actively supports the museum in its various missions and activities.