At the end of the 1950s in Lausanne, Roger and Claire Givel, art enthusiasts, essentially self-taught, began collecting works.

Bathed in this stimulating context to which he has been sensitive since adolescence, Jean-Claude Givel soon began purchasing an increasing number of works himself. His acquisitions gradually open up to new, mainly contemporary, horizons. Alongside his passion for the arts, primarily painting, dance and classical music, Jean-Claude Givel practiced visceral surgery and was at the CHUV a teacher much appreciated by generations of students.

For its part, Anne-Claire Givel Fuchs dedicates her professional life to nursing as well as municipal politics. An insatiable and passionate traveler, she travels the world on numerous trips. Committed to patronage mainly for classical music, painting and dance, she took the step of creating the Givel Foundation a few years after the sudden death of her brother Jean-Claude in 2015.