Hermine Sur un Vieux Mur (Ermine on an Old Wall)

Robert Hainard

Swiss printmaker Robert Hainard, noted for his woodcuts and lithographs of animals, depicts a white ermine climbing in an ancient wall. This is one of his earlier works, done in 1935 when he was 25. He continued to work into the late 1980s.

Robert Hainard was born in Geneva, Switzerland on September 11, 1906. Hainard’s parents, Philip Hainard (1879-1938) and Eugénie Hainard-Bechard (1882-1942), were both painters. At age 12, Robert Hainard left primary school and was homeschooled by his father for his general education; it was around this time that he began to learn to draw.

In 1927 he claimed to have invented a new process of wood engraving and in 1929 he exhibited his first prints in the technique at Geneva Salon. This style, which resembled crayon and graphite drawing and featured extraordinarily delicate texture, lent itself to his preferred subject matter - local flora and fauna - and these became his best known works. In addition to printmaking Hainard worked in oils, watercolors, and sculpture.

An amateur naturalist and philosopher, Hainard was greatly inspired by the wildlands of Geneva which he worked to save from urban sprawl, becoming a member of the Pro Natura Geneva organization, which continues to establish and maintain nature preserves. He would continue to champion Swiss wildlife and land throughout his life, occasionally donating his artwork to fundraisers and obtaining an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Geneva in 1969. He authored several books on the subject of wildlife and illustrated several others.