Gustave Roud, “Swiss Farmer”, 1940, Photo Series

Poet and photographer Gustave Roud was born in 1897 in Saint-Légier, in the canton of Vaud. In 1908, Roud, along with his parents and sister, moved to a farm in Carrouge inherited from his maternal grandfather. He and his sister would spend the rest of their lives living there. In high school, Roud studied the classics and took classes with the renowned Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet and the Swiss-French writer Edmond Gilliard. Roud went on to study at the University of Lausanne  where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. During this time, Round translated the poems while also actively participating in a number of literary journals.

While living a solitary life in his family farm at Carrouge, Roud maintained numerous friendships with artists, poets, and other intellectuals such as writer Charles ferdinand Ramuz and poet Maurice Chappaz. Gustave Roud also mentored the young Philippe Jaccottet, who would late become one of Switzerland’s most accomplished poets.

Road, considered one of the greatest poets of Romandy, the French- speaking western part of Switzerland. In his poetry which is dedicated to the Swiss landscapes, he attempts to create the preception of a lost paradise.