Gian Casty

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Gian Casty (born May 10, 1914 in Zuoz ; † August 21, 1979 in Basel ; resettled in Basel and Trin ) was a Swiss painter , illustrator and glass painter . He belonged to that avant-garde of the Swiss art scene, which rediscovered glass painting as a fully-fledged means of artistic expression.

life and work

Casty grew up in a family of mountain farmers and did an apprenticeship as a flat and decorative painter in Chur from 1930 to 1933 . He then attended classes with Theo Eble and Arnold Fiechter at the general trade school in Basel .

Facade painting, Leonhardsstrasse, Basel, by Gian Casty (1914–1978)
Facade painting, Basel

In 1937 he stayed in Malmö and in 1938/1939 he spent two semesters at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière . His works were shaped by the late impressionist influence. From 1941 to 1943 Casty worked primarily as a flat and decorative painter. Then he decided on a career as an artist. Casty was widely known for his successful participation in competitions and direct orders from the Basel-Stadt art credit . In 1944 he received a federal art grant and in 1966 he received the Swiss Poster of the Year award . In Zuoz, Casty created sgraffitos and the illustrations for children's books.

Between 1948 and 1979, Casty designed over 350 individual panes for private and public institutions as well as glass windows in over 40 sacred and profane buildings, mostly in the Basel region and eastern Switzerland . They often depicted heraldic, religious and fairy tale motifs. In the sacred area, Casty made the breakthrough with the Christophorus disk, which was acquired by the federal government in 1955 and Pope Pius XII . for his 80th birthday. In Zuoz, Casty created the stained glass for the San Bastiaun Chapel in 1948 and the "Epiphany Windows" for the Reformed Church in Zuoz in 1955 . Casty also painted the stained glass in 1963 in the Reformed Church of Madulain belonging to Zuoz .

His most extensive work was created between 1957 and 1960 on behalf of the Swiss Bank Corporation. For the three large, arched windows facing an inner courtyard in the corridor of the Basel bank building on the first floor, he created the representation of the five continents in a uniformly conceived series, giving each individual window the light falling according to its location in the angled corridor and its own shape tailored to the sequence in the row. The intact glass pictures have been kept in Zuoz since a major fire in the bank building in 1978.

Gian Casty was married and had two daughters.

In 2011 his works were shown in the Swiss Glass Museum Vitromusée Romont , in 2012 in Basel, 2014 in Zuoz and in 2019 in a special exhibition in the Museum Langenthal .

Works (selection)

  • 1948: stained glass, crucifixion , San Bastiaun Chapel, Zuoz
  • 1951: Glass painting, fish , Neubad school building, Basel
  • 1955: Stained glass, The Three Kings , Reformed St. Lucius Church, Zuoz
  • 1957: Glass painting, sailor with parrot , Gellert schoolhouse , Basel
  • 1963: Stained Glass, Resurrection , Reformed Church, Madulain
  • 1965: Stained glass, see the birds - see the lilies, Reformed Church, Aargau

literature

  • Heinz Weidkuhn Ed .: The Unknown Gian Casty, Publisher: IL-Verlag, Basel, 2012, ISBN 978-3-905955-63-7
  • Ulrich Wismer: Glass painter Gian Casty: Shine out of the dark , Wächli Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-9520580-2-2
  • Ulrich Wismer: Glass paintings in Zuoz, Verlag Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte, 2019, ISBN 978-3-03797-647-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 1957, glass window for the Bankverein Basel
  2. ↑ 2011 Gian Casty in Vitromusée
  3. ↑ 1955, Reformed St. Luzius Church, Zuoz
  4. ↑ 1963, Madulain Reformed Church
  5. ↑ 1965, Aargau Reformed Church
personal data
SURNAME Casty, Gian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Casty, Jan; カ ス テ ィ, ギ ア ン
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss painter, illustrator and glass painter
DATE OF BIRTH May 10, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Zuoz
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1979
Place of death Basel