Away from the (too) beaten path
The second life of this beautiful 19th-century estate, donated by the Bugnion family to the city of Lausanne, began in June 1984. Its four floors offer visitors the attractive atmosphere of a private setting.
François Daulte, art historian and renowned publisher, was the first director of this institution and very quickly gave the Fondation a far-reaching reputation. At the Hermitage the impressionists Bonnard, Boudin and Magritte are at home.
From 1996 to 2011, Juliane Cosandier directed the museum and organized alternating exhibitions, monographs (Brauner, Jawlensky, Fantin-Latour, Hopper) and collections (Weinberg, Planque, Hahnloser) as well as exhibitions on special topics (pointillism, futurism, English watercolors, Scandinavian painting, Spanish painting).
Since August 2011 Sylvie Wuhrmann took over the reins of the museum to lead it to new successes in the exciting and varied fields from the 18th century to modern art.
Other buildings of the estate
A modern glass pavilion, which is attached to the mansion, serves as a reception room and bookstore. With an extension building in the basement, the exhibition space has been enlarged, and it provides a link to the farmhouse's farmhouse, where concerts, lectures and workshops for children are organized. The small "red brick workshop", the former dovecote and the orangery in the style of the time have been converted into a charming café-restaurant.