Franz Meyer (entrepreneur)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Franz Meyer , also Franz Meyer-Stünzi and Franz Meyer-Mahler , (born July 2nd, 1889 in Zurich ; died on March 19th, 1962 there ) was a Swiss lawyer, entrepreneur and art collector.

Life

Franz Meyer was born in Zurich in 1889 as the son of the entrepreneur Fritz Meyer-Fierz and his wife Nina, née Fierz. His father had made considerable fortunes through the tobacco trade and was one of the earliest collectors of modern painting in Switzerland. The son was therefore able to see works by famous artists such as Vincent van Gogh , Paul Gauguin , Piet Mondrian and Ferdinand Hodler in his parents' house .

After finishing school, Franz Meyer studied law at the Universities of Geneva , Zurich and Munich . He received his doctorate in 1913 at the University of Leipzig on the subject of the revision of the provisions on the qualified formation of stock corporations in Switzerland, comparing the relevant provisions in German, French and English legislation . He then worked for various companies and repeatedly held leading positions. For example, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Company for Capital Investments AG , Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Aktiengesellschaft für Seidenindustrie , Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for Investment Values , member and temporarily Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Swiss Life Insurance and Pension Fund and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Leu & Co . AG .

  • Ferdinand Hodler:
    The Spring (Version IV)
    private collection

  • Henri Rousseau:
    The hungry lion throws himself on the antelope
    Fondation Beyeler, Riehen

  • Amedeo Modigliani:
    Portrait of Mario Varfogli
    private collection

  • Robert Delaunay:
    Saint-Séverin No. 1
    private collection

Like his father, Franz Meyer is interested in art. From his father's collection he took over individual pieces such as Der Frühling (Version IV) from Ferdinand Hodler , but also began to collect according to his own interests. He acquired pictures by the Swiss painters Adolf Dietrich , Carl Montag , Walter Linsenmaier , Wilfrid Moser and Franz Fedier . There were also works by the naive painters Henri Rousseau , André Bauchant , Louis Vivin , Séraphine Louis , Dominique Peyronnet , Camille Bombois and Morris Hirshfield . He also collected pictures by contemporary artists such as Amedeo Modigliani , Robert Delaunay , Fernand Léger , Marc Chagall , Bram van Velde , Thanos Tsingos , Sam Francis , Clyfford Still , Pierre Tal-Coat , Jean Messagier , Mark Rothko , Serge Poliakoff and Antoni Tàpies . He also acquired sculptures by Henri Laurens , Alberto Giacometti and Eduardo Chillida . Various works of art from his collection were donated to the Kunsthaus Zürich . In addition, Franz Meyer was involved for several decades in the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, the supporting association of the Kunsthaus Zürich. From 1920 to 1940 he was President of the Collection Commission, from 1928 to 1940 Vice-President of the Board of Directors and from 1940 to 1960 President of the Board of Directors. He also supported the Kunsthaus with various donations.

Franz Meyer was married to Hedwig Stünzi for the first time. From this marriage come a daughter and the art historian Franz Meyer (junior). He successively managed the Kunsthalle Bern and the Kunstmuseum Basel as director and was married to Ida Chagall, daughter of the painter Marc Chagall , for the first time. After the death of Hedwig Stünzi in 1946, Franz Meyer Senior married Marguerite Mahler for the second time. He used the surnames Meyer-Stünzi and Meyer-Mahler as an alliance name after his marriage .

literature

  • Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft (Ed.): New Year's Gazette of the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft 1963. With contributions by Alfred Schaefer, René Wehrli, Eugen Böhler, Franz Meyer (Junior) and Sam Francis.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information on the date of birth on the website of the University of Zurich, material numbers 18481 and 20218
  2. ↑ See Franz Meyer's obituary in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. March 19, 1962.
  3. ^ Message on the death of Franz Meyer In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. March 21, 1962, p. 6 and entries in the online database DODIS-Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland 1848–1975 .
  4. ↑ Information on the provenance of the painting 'Der Frühling (Version IV) by Ferdinand Hodler on the website of the Koller auction house.
  5. ^ Franz Meyer (Junior): Franz Meyer as a collector. In: Neujahrsblatt der Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft 1963. pp. 24–36.
  6. ↑ Provenance information on works from the former Franz Meyer collection at the Kunsthaus Zürich (PDF).
  7. ↑ Franz Meyer obituary by Rene Wehrli, director of the Zürcher Kunsthaus. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. March 26, 1962, pp. 5-6.
personal data
SURNAME Meyer, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meyer, Robert Franz (full name); Meyer-Stünzi, Franz (other name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss lawyer, entrepreneur and art collector
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH March 19, 1962
Place of death Zurich