Alois Carigiet

Alois Carigiet

Alois Carigiet (1902 Trun 1985)
Some of the most important painters of Swiss art come from the Canton of Graubünden
Alois Carigiet is undoubtedly one of them.
Born in Trun in 1902, he grew up in farming relationships. He is the older brother of the famous actor Zarli Cargiet. The family moved to Chur in 1911, where he attended secondary school and began an apprenticeship as a decorative painter in 1918. In 1923 he moved to Zurich, where he worked in a graphic studio. In 1927 he opened his own studio.
In 1933, at that time still a graphic artist, Alois Carigiet was a co-founder of the legendary 'Cabaret Cornichon' in Zurich. With enthusiasm, he created witty satirical stage sets, and also designed the famous signet with the winged pickle - the “Cornichon”. The well-known red cloverleaf of the state lottery and the poster for the Landi 1939 also came from him.
Throughout his life he felt artistically committed to hand drawing and watercolor, which he rated very highly as an artist.
In 1939 he returned to his beloved home canton of Graubünden, to Platenga near Obersaxen.
'The mountain had me again,' he writes in his biography.
Here he worked until 1950 as a freelance artist. Then he created the illustrations for children's books that made him known all over the world.
Finally he turned to oil painting. Here too he remained true to his distinctive style. His works are representational, but expressively reduced to the important image content. It shows familiar motifs from rural life in the Graubünden villages in the midst of the mountains without ignoring modern developments.
His work reflects a piece of contemporary history in Graubünden that is preserved through his work.