Anna Iduna Zehnder

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Anna Iduna Zehnder (* 22. July 1877 in Birmenstorf , † 8. March 1955 in Ascona ) was a Swiss painter of modernity , doctor and anthroposophist .

Life

Anna Iduna Zehnder was born in Birmenstorf in 1877 . Her parents and their grandparents ran a country inn with associated agriculture and a mineral spring. When Anna Iduna Zehnder was five years old, both parents died of tuberculosis . In Aarau she attended the district school and later the teachers' seminar . After graduating from high school, in 1904 she was one of the few women who began studying medicine at the University of Zurich . In 1907 she fell ill with tuberculosis and had to interrupt her studies. During this time the first drawings and paintings were made, mainly as motifs for postcards. In 1911 she continued her medical studies at the University of Basel and obtained the medical patent in 1914.

In the summer of 1917 she attended the painting school of Arthur Segal and settled with her life partner Emmy Thurnheer to Ascona to where they worked in practice the only doctor in town. When he fell ill and could no longer continue his work, Zehnder took over the practice. Through her job and her work as an artist, she was well connected and came into contact with representatives of the European avant-garde on Monte Verità , including the Russian painter Marianne von Werefkin . In the summer of 1919 she exhibited several works as part of an exhibition by Ascones artists in the Wolfsberg art salon in Zurich.

She came into contact with anthroposophical teaching through a patient . When Zehnder's partner fell ill with an eye disease in 1924, she consulted Rudolf Steiner in Arlesheim . In the same year Zehnder became a member of the Anthroposophical Society . She continued her education in eurythmy therapy , healing painting and curative education , and applied these forms of therapy in her own practice. In the following years she traveled regularly to medical conferences in Dornach . She could only devote herself to painting in her free time. The last dated painting is from 1931.

From 1945 Zehnder's health deteriorated noticeably, so that she could only devote herself to her practice to a limited extent. On March 8, 1955, she died of complications from pneumonia.

Anna Iduna Zehnder left around 180 paintings. Many of them are not dated. In addition to exercise pieces, most of which are performed using the technique of pointillization , Zehnder painted numerous portraits, still lifes and landscapes. Another group of mostly abstract and abstracting images are shaped by religious and occult themes, which can also be interpreted against the background of Zehnder's exploration of anthroposophy.

Works (selection)

  • Self-portrait, 1917
  • Creature in fear , 1919
  • Passion story (cycle of 14 pictures), 1923
  • Remembering the Stoos , 1925–1926

Two volumes of children's poems by Anna Iduna Zehnder were also published posthumously.

Exhibitions

literature

  • Anna Iduna Zehnder (1877-1955): artist, doctor, anthroposophist: (exhibition), Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, 7 September to 17 November 2013 / authors: Thomas Schmutz, Simon Baur; Ed .: Thomas Schmutz ... et al. Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess; Aarau: Aargauer Kunsthaus, 2013. 95 p .; mainly illustrated ISBN 9783858813916
  • Anna Iduna Zehnder in memory: obituaries, memories, letters. On the 3rd day of death, March 8, 1958 / With the consent of the author. by Edwin Froböse. Dornach: Komm. Rudolf Steiner Estate Administration, 1958. 39 S.: Ill.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Zehnder, Anna Iduna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss painter, doctor and anthroposophist
DATE OF BIRTH July 22, 1877
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmenstorf
DATE OF DEATH March 8, 1955
Place of death Ascona