Swiss biography revives Harry Kessler, Franco-German patron of modern art

rts.ch (French)

A new biography by Swiss writer Jean-Pierre Pastori revives Harry Kessler, the German aristocrat and forgotten patron of modern art who championed Europe's avant-garde in the early 1900s. Born in Paris in 1868, Kessler directed Weimar's grand-ducal museum, promoting impressionist and French avant-garde exhibitions before resigning in 1906 over Rodin drawings deemed pornographic. He mingled with Munch, Einstein, Chanel, and co-wrote librettos with Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Labeled "Red Count" by conservatives for his pacifism, he fled Nazi Germany in 1933, dying in Lyon in 1937. His 10,000-page diary, kept from age 12, anchors Pastori's illustrated biography.


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Swiss biography revives Harry Kessler, Franco-German patron of modern art | News Minimalist