SAMIVEL (Paul Gayet-Tancrède)
(1907 – 1992)
"Here is the space, here is the pure air, here is the silence..."
Samivel, poet of the Alps.
Famous for his watercolours of the mountains, Samivel, whose real name is Paul Gayet-Tancrède, is a writer, graphic designer, illustrator, film-maker and photographer. His pseudonym "Samivel" is taken from Dickens' "Adventures of Mr Pickwick" and the character of Sam Weller.
His career as an illustrator began in 1928. He contributed to alpine magazines and books, as he was himself a fervent alpine sportsman. He was also a very committed pioneer in the preservation of natural habitats and endangered species. On this subject, he designed several posters for the French Mountain Federation and the Vanoise Park, including " Les dix commandements de la montagne " (The Ten Commandments of the Mountain) in the 1980s.
As a filmmaker, he accompanied Paul-Emil Victor on the first French expedition to Greenland in 1948 and made three documentary films about this expedition. In 1952, he directed a film on the beauty of alpine nature: "Cimes et merveilles". As an illustrator, he honours the texts of great writers such as Villon, Rabelais or Ramuz.
His watercolours and posters celebrate the high mountains and their snowy peaks. Nature is serene and infinite. The presence of man is put in the background: tiny climbers perched at the top of a grandiose and calm mountain landscape, as in his poster for "Chamonix" in 1972 or " Découvrez la montagne avec un guide ", circa 1975. The use of pastel colours, light azure blue and white, enhances the impression of purity and silence ("Lac Blanc - Le Grépon et l'aiguille verte" or "Gardez-la intacte" in the 1980s). The mountain is the land of freedom, the place of the free man.
Samivel donated all his work to the Musée d'Ethnographie in Geneva.
Club Alpin Français
circa 1948
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Le Parc national de la Vanoise, Alpes de Savoie
1966
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Chamonix, Mont Blanc France, au centre d'un monde de cristal
1972
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Chamonix, Mont Blanc France, au centre d'un monde de cristal
1972
CHF 1270.–
Chamonix, Mont Blanc France, au centre d'un monde de cristal
1972
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Le Parc national de la Vanoise, Alpes de Savoie
circa 1975
NewSold
Du Léman à la Méditerranée, La grande traversée des Alpes françaises
circa 1975
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Chamonix, Découvrez la montagne avec un guide
circa 1975
CHF 1040.–
New
Gardez-la intacte
circa 1975
CHF 690.–
New
L'alliance de l'Homme et la Montagne, Parc national de la Vanoise
circa 1975
CHF 490.–
New
L'alliance de l'Homme et la Montagne, Parc national de la Vanoise
circa 1975
CHF 430.–
New
Chamonix, Découvrez la montagne avec un guide
circa 1975
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Aujourd'hui pour demain, sauvons la montagne !
circa 1978
CHF 690.–
New
Parc des Ecrins, le parc européen de la haute montagne
circa 1978
CHF 650.–
New
Sauvons la montagne! Contre la marée noire des pollutions, des spéculations, du vandalisme.....
circa 1980
CHF 240.–
Le Parc national de la Vanoise, Alpes de Savoie
circa 1980
CHF 530.–
New
Lac Noir et les aiguilles de Chamonix
circa 1980
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Lac Noir et les aiguilles de Chamonix
circa 1980
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Lac Blanc, Le Grépon et l'aiguille verte
circa 1980
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Lac Blanc, Le Grépon et l'aiguille verte
circa 1980
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Objectifs de la Déclaration de Kathmandu
circa 1980
CHF 390.–
Skieur
circa 1980
NewSold
Savoie, toit de la France
circa 1980
CHF 570.–
New
Les dix commandements de la Montagne
circa 1980
CHF 490.–
New
Chamonix, Réserve naturelle des Contamines, Montjoie, Massif du Mont-Blanc
circa 1980
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Ecole militaire de Haute-Montagne, Chamonix
1982
Price upon request
New
Chamonix, Réserve naturelle des Contamines, Montjoie, Massif du Mont-Blanc
circa 1985
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Savoie, Le Mont-Blanc des Hauts de Megève
circa 1985
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Au Vrai Sommet
circa 1985
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Samivel, Poète du verbe et de l'image, Musée d'Ethnographie, Genève
1991
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Le Parc national de la Vanoise, Alpes de Savoie
circa 2007
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