Auguste Viollier
Swiss, 1854-1908
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Auguste Constantin Viollier (or simply Auguste Viollier or under the pseudonym Godefroy de Georgina), born June 27, 1854 in Petit-Saconnex, and died June 28, 1908 in Cologny, was a Swiss painter, caricaturist, watercolorist, illustrator and poster artist. Renowned for his caricatures, he lived alternately in Paris and Geneva. He is the father of Jean Viollier.
Auguste Viollier was born on June 27, 1854 in Petit-Saconnex (now part of Geneva). He was the son of Pastor Joseph-Hyacinthe Viollier and Jeanne Caroline Adèle Vaucher. A student at the Académie de Genève from 1872 to 1875, he did not complete his studies. He then trained with Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris in 1877. He married Charlotte Philippine Hélène Annevelle on May 21, 1890. He contributed to several Parisian magazines. He founded illustrated journals such as Le Polichinelle in Paris and Le Papillon in Geneva. He was the creator of the Sapajou theater (shadow puppets) at the 1896 national exhibition. Active in Geneva, he co-founded the Cercle des Arts et Lettres in 1897 and the magazine Passe-partout in 1900. In 1898, he founded the Société d'affiches artistiques to modernize poster art in Switzerland. He died in Cologny on June 28, 1908.