Augustin Meinrad Bächtiger
Augustin Meinrad Bächtiger (born May 12, 1888 in Mörschwil , † May 4, 1971 in Gossau ) was a Swiss church painter .
Life
Augustin Bächtiger was born on May 12, 1888 in Mörschwil (Canton St.Gallen). A year later, his father took over the management of a reformatory in Oberbüren , where Bächtiger grew up with two siblings. In 1903 he attended the trade school in St. Gallen and completed a traineeship as a decorative painter . His trade teacher recognized the young Bächtiger's talent for drawing and recommended that he train as a painter in Munich . In October 1905 he was admitted to the art academy there and entered the natural drawing class. From 1907 Bächtiger learned in the painting class of Angelo Jank .
After completing his basic artistic training, Bächtiger completed the recruit school. Later he stayed in Munich again and again. The city was of great importance as a training location for young artists and was one of the most popular art metropolises along with Paris , Stuttgart and Milan . At the Munich Art Academy he also got to know posters, postcards and lithography .
Bächtiger had his first success with two altarpieces in 1910. After a trip to Italy, he took part in various competitions. In 1912 he won the poster competition for the Federal Singers' Festival in Neuchâtel and his design for the federal celebration postcard from 1913 was awarded first prize. Bächtiger subsequently illustrated and designed other postcards. In 1914 he was represented at the graphic art exhibition in Leipzig and at the Swiss national exhibition in Bern . Bächtiger spent the winter semester of 1915/16 to complete his training with Franz von Stuck .
In June 1916, Bächtiger returned to Switzerland. After the end of the First World War , he moved to Samedan in May 1919 , like many other artists. Here he continued to work on his painting skills until he took a trip to France and Spain in 1921. On this trip Bächtiger found himself and explored his artistic roots. The Louvre and Notre Dame made a great impression on him - the richness of forms and the beauty of the Middle Ages captivated him.
In May 1922, Bächtiger returned to Switzerland and began painting churches . The convinced Christian, who lived the Catholic faith with deep conviction, wanted to help churchgoers to better devotion and worship. So he set himself the goal of bringing monumental sacred painting back to its former size and importance. He often worked with August Wanner, who lives in St. Gallen, and Johannes Hugentobler from Appenzell . The three artists soon set the tone for church painting in Eastern Switzerland .
Between 1933 and 1936, Bächtiger executed the first part of his main work in the new cemetery hall in Hochdorf - twelve murals with the theme Dies irae . After the war, however, the public contracts became fewer and smaller in scope. Bächtiger had more time to paint privately again. He worked with a wide variety of techniques, but mostly with watercolors . The shy artist hardly ever presented the pictures, which showed great differences to his public works.
In the 1920s and 1930s there was increasing criticism of Bächtiger's work. Nonetheless, the sensitive artist continued to work tirelessly and mastered physically strenuous large-scale jobs well into old age. In 1967 he tried for the last time for a public job in Sumvitg . The answer to his request must have hit him - it was very negative. After that, Bächtiger only painted flower watercolors in clear colors. Even during his lifetime he was a controversial artist. Some classified it as too modern, others saw in it a representative of bygone eras. Especially in the post-war period , his heroic-pathetic works of art were viewed with skepticism.
He was happy that he could paint in his garden and that he was over 80 years old. On May 4, 1971, he died a few days before his 83rd birthday in his home in Gossau.
literature
- Isabella and Daniel Studer-Geisser: Augustin Meinrad Bächtiger (1888–1971), a Gossau artist between tradition and modernity . In: Oberberger Blätter 1988/1989 . Publishing house Cavelti AG, Gossau, S. 34-43 .
Web links
- Isabella Studer-Geisser: Bächtiger, Augustin Meinrad. In: Sikart
- Literature by and about Augustin Meinrad Bächtiger in the catalog of the German National Library
- augustin-meinrad-baechtiger.ch (German)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bächtiger, Augustin Meinrad |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss church painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 12, 1888 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mörschwil |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th May 1971 |
| Place of death | Gossau |