Jacques Soulié (1939, Montauban – 2025, Kandy)

Janaka Samarakoon | Nice, July 5, 2025

A psychiatrist by training, professor of French and psychiatry, French by birth and Sri Lankan at heart, a man of the arts, of spirit and of compassion — Dr. Jacques Christian Soulié passed away on July 5 at his home, perched high above Kandy, facing the mythical Hanthana mountains he so dearly loved. He would have turned 86 on September 12. 

Former Director of the Alliance Française in Kandy (2000–2010), he leaves behind several generations of students and pupils who regarded him with near-reverence, an arts and culture centre he built with sheer willpower, and the memory of a man driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge and creative endeavour — right up to his final days. Among his last undertakings: an unfinished collaborative translation of the Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Lanka, covering the period from the 6th century BCE to 1815 CE, and preparations for a celebratory event marking the 10th anniversary of his beloved centre — his “last baby,” and likely the one that gave him the greatest satisfaction. 

Born in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) in 1939 into a family of farmers — though he would unapologetically say peasants — he experienced a childhood shaped by wartime anxiety, the absence of a father conscripted into the army, and deep deprivation. His father’s return, after the war, brought with it the long-silenced mystery of a Swiss exile, which would fuel in the son a lifelong search for meaning. 

A brilliant student, Jacques earned a scholarship to attend the private SaintThéodard College, a school reserved for the well-born and, occasionally, the exceptionally gifted. There, he became acutely aware of social divisions and began to aspire to a form of spiritual elevation. The early loss of his father, the overwhelming yet quietly expressed love of his mother — an accomplice in the social "heist" her son was mounting against all odds —, the rarefied world of his classmates' families, glimpsed but never fully shared, and his early involvement in village-level socio-cultural life — all of these formative experiences shaped a complex personality capable of navigating with ease between the margins and the center of civic life, and back again. This gift for fluidity would become a defining trait in a life journey that took him from the endless wheat fields of southwestern France to the misty hills of Kandy, via French Polynesia and the genteel Rue Monge in Paris. Brilliant medical studies led him to a career in military medicine, bringing him — with a high rank — to Tahiti, in the midst of French nuclear testing. But by the end of the Gaullist era, the military world and its strict discipline — the very things that once attracted him — began to lose their appeal. At great personal financial cost, he severed ties with the army and returned to France to take up psychiatry, which he practiced for 25 years before opting for early retirement at age 55. Along the way, he discovered Buddhism and Sri Lanka — first in Paris, then through travel — with its arts, foundational texts, and luminous culture. He fell instantly in love with Kandy and decided to settle there.

He brought with him a remarkable collection of artworks, paintings, furniture, and rare books, patiently assembled over the years in auction houses and flea markets across Europe. The setting he chose for his new life was worthy of the collection it would house: a two-hundred-year-old noble residence, in the pure Kandyan style, of what is known as Dutch architectural lineage. It is the Naranwala Walawwa. 

Hardly had he settled in Kandy than he turned his back on the notion of a peaceful, golden retirement. He offered his services to the Alliance Française of Kandy (AFK), where he quickly became a cornerstone — teaching classes, taking on administrative duties, and giving weekly lectures in psychiatry at the University of Peradeniya (visible from his courtyard) and at Sri Jayawardenepura University in Colombo, a three-hour drive away!

Tireless, he became the unofficial cultural attaché of Kandy’s Francophone community, organizing exhibitions and themed evenings with infectious enthusiasm. He introduced Sri Lankan audiences to the masterpieces of Delacroix, Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse… to name only a few, and only the painters. Between 2001 and 2012, he took the helm of the Alliance Française of Kandy, ushering in a true golden age — with over 550 students, a record never since equalled, and a rich, varied cultural program. He took charge of a floundering ship in troubled waters and revitalized it. One especially perilous moment stands out: when the AFK had to vacate the premises it had occupied for many years in central Kandy. It fell to him to find a new home in record time — a task he accomplished with calm and brilliance, concealing from the outside world the inner turmoil of seeing his institution nearly cast out onto the street. To this day, the venerable Alliance occupies that uniquely luminous setting, nestled across from the Hanthana mountains. Kandy’s art lovers will long remember the multidisciplinary soirées he masterfully orchestrated — blending visual arts, music, and film screenings — which became his signature, both at the Alliance and beyond.

Dr. Jacques Soulié at his residence, Suriyakantha Mahawalawwa, Handessa - 2019 © Janaka Samarakoon

Even after retiring — successively and in that order — from psychiatry, from his directorship at the Alliance, and from his teaching duties, Jacques Soulié never ceased to create. A man who seemed to take to heart (perhaps too much so) Roger Nimier’s adage — “A man without a project is the enemy of mankind” — launched, in 2010, his final venture: opening his home to the public, transforming it into a center for art and archives. Despite many bureaucratic hurdles — not least due to his status as a foreigner — the Suriyakantha Centre for Art and Culture opened its doors in 2015. Today, the SCAC is a cultural gem of Kandy, leaving no visitor unmoved — as confirmed by the glowing online testimonials. A meticulous perfectionist, he continued — even two months ago — to personally greet every guest, guide them through his centre, and often share a meal with those who wished to linger a little longer in the presence of this stranger who, in truth, had already become their friend. The near-annual event Suriya Kavikara — seven editions in ten years — was the crowning moment of the year. A multidisciplinary evening dedicated to the arts in all their diversity, Suriya Kavikara proudly positioned itself as the heir to the centuries-old Kandyan tradition of honoring the living arts (Kavikara Maduwa). 

Almost simultaneously, around 2015, a neurodegenerative illness began to appear. He denied it at first, then fought it, referring — not without irony — to the “honeymoon phase” that marks the onset of Parkinson’s, which had been diagnosed in time and responded well to treatment… until it returned with renewed force. He resisted it to the end. Even last year, he travelled back to France for his usual summer stay, divided between his native Southwest and the Paris of his passions. The memory of this exceptional man — a bridge between two cultures — will be honored. His legacy, both material and spiritual, will live on. In Kandy, his empathy, humanism, and insatiable curiosity will leave an immense void. His spiritual daughters and sons will carry forward his profoundly humanist vision. And the world will mourn a rare kind of polymath — radiant, indefinable, unforgettable.