An age-old art but still very much alive today, paper cutting, or the art of paper cutting,
is part of the living traditions of the canton of Vaud. In Château-d’Oex, in the heart of the
Pays-d’Enhaut which has seen this craft develop, a museum gathers these remarkable masterworks, while the paper cutting artists in activity invite the public to discover their passion.
The details made with finesse, the magic of the children’s world and the scenes of daily life in the past are the fascinating elements of a paper cut. Imported from the Orient, paper cutting has its Swiss origins in the Pays-D’Enhaut, in the Alps of the canton of Vaud, homeland of the fathers of this art: Johann Jakob Hauswirth (1809-1871) and Louis Saugy (1871-1953). Several of their magnificent art works are exposed in the Musée du Vieux Pays-d’Enhaut in Château-d’Oex. If the paper cuts of the time feature daily life in the past in the ancient mountain villages, the art of paper cutting was modernised and the contemporary works appear in different forms. To let you discover them the artists open the door of their workshop to transmit their passion or even to offer courses in this historical Know-how, still very much alive.
Activities connected with paper cutting
Starting your walk, followed by an introduction, passing by the museum, various activities will let you approach this ancestral art in a varied and playful way.
The local artists
In the Pays-D’Enhaut paper cutting has everything to seduce us. Whether by curiosity or passed on from one generation to another, several artists today have a pair of scissors or a cutter at hand. The richness of their work resides in the variety of their styles. In colour or black & white, modern or classical, they are all passionate about highlighting the local traditions through their own design.
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