Numa DONZÉ

Numa Donzé is the son of Charles Gustave DONZÉ (1838-1921), born in Breuleux. This one was married at the 1st marriage with the widow Elisbeth Jetzler born small. Together they had 3 children. When his wife died in 1879, his father married Wilheimine Klingele (1847-1917), from Fahrnau in Wiesental. This is how Donzé grew up with his sister Valerie and 3 brothers-in-law at the Steingraben in Basel. Donzé his talent was recognized early and promoted by his parents. After completing his compulsory studies, he attended the Basel Business School and took courses with Fritz Schider and Rudolf Lôw. For a year, Donzé studied in Munich with Heinrich Knirr and then went to Rome with a German painter friend. In 1906, Donzé produced his masterpiece "La Liberation". A singular interpretation of the legend of the knight Georg, with an emphasis not on the Liberator but on the Freed.

Donations Frühwerk included, among others, the landscapes of the Rhine and Provence, which have already earned him attention for 20 years. During and after the 1st with Otto Roos, Paul Basilius Barth, Jean-Jacques Lücher, Heinrich Müller and Karl Dick, Donzé formed the group of artists from Basel of dark painters. This group of artists called "Generation of Classical Painters from Basel", was a revolutionary discovery for Basel art lovers. The group made its breakthrough in 1907 with a joint exhibition at the Kunsthalle in Basel. The artists had friendly exchanges with the Basel artist group of Neue Leben in 1918. And with the artist group "Rot-Blau" they significantly influenced the development of Basel painting after the turn of the century until 'in the 1920s.

At the end of 1907, Donzé became a trend in Paris, where he became enthusiastic about Gustave Courbet, Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. He shares a workshop with Jean-Jacques Lüscher in a former monastery in Montmartre. He stayed between Provence and Paris until 1910. From 1910 to 1915 he painted important works.

He died in 1952.