Il Disertore This work is the fruit of the discovery of over one hundred fascinating images left in the villages of the Valais by Charles Frédéric Brun, an obscure French painter known as “the deserter”, who came to Switzerland clandestinely in 1850 by arduous mountain paths. He arrived in the community of Nendaz, where he lived until this death in 1871, painting devout paintings and receiving bread, cheese and bacon in return and, on rare occasions, some money. Jean Giono recounts the intriguing story of this petit-maître. He went to Switzerland, to the places where the Deserter stopped during his flight, saw his paintings (those of the parish priest, the pharmacist and other village worthies) and above all tried to reconstruct, while travelling through the valley, this character and his itinerary.

Title: Il disertore Pages: 127 Tables: 34 Author: Jean Jono Edition: Italian, French Translation: Patrizio Bocconi Year: 1966 Other Authors: Franco Maria Ricci Dimensions: (cm) 35x23 Rilegato: In Black "Orient" silk, with tipped-in colour plate, impressed gold lettering and library case Photos by: Nicolas Bouvier Collazione: 4 pb, 8 pnn, 154 pn, 2 pb Iconographia: Religious paintings by Charles Frederic Brun, known as "the Deserter" Colophon: 2500 Paper: Hand-made, Ingres, pastel Blue, manufactured by Cartiere Miliani in Fabriano Printer: Valerio Leschiera