The Biography

Samivel, pen name of Paul Gayet-Tancrède, born July 11, 1907 in Paris and died February 18, 1992 in Grenoble, is a French writer, poet, graphic designer, illustrator, filmmaker, photographer, explorer and lecturer, known for his watercolors of Mountain. His pseudonym "Samivel" is taken from Dickens' "Adventures of Mr. Pickwick" and the character of Sam Weller. His career as an illustrator began in 1928. He then collaborated on mountaineering magazines and books, being himself a fervent follower of alpine sports. He is also a pioneer very committed to the protection of natural areas and endangered species. On this subject, he produced several posters for the French Mountain Federation and the Parc de la Vanoise, including "The ten mountain commandments" in the 1980s. As a filmmaker, he accompanied Paul-Emil Victor in 1948 on the first French expedition to Greenland and made three documentary films on this expedition. In 1952, he made a film about the beauty of alpine nature: "Cimes et Merveilles". As an illustrator, he honors the texts of great writers such as Villon, Rabelais or Ramuz. His watercolors and posters celebrate the high mountains and their snowy peaks. Nature is serene and infinite. The presence of man is put in the background: tiny mountaineers perched at the top of a grandiose and calm mountain landscape as in his poster for "Chamonix" in 1972 or "Discover the mountain with a guide", circa 1975. The use of pastel shades, light azure blue and white, reinforces the feeling of purity and silence ("Lac Blanc - Le Grépon et l'aiguille verte" or "Keep it intact" in the 80s). The mountain is the land of freedom, the place of the free man. Samivel bequeathed all of his work to the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva.