Hans Jakob Meyer

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Hans Jakob Meyer (born September 11, 1903 in Zurich ; † July 4, 1981 in Feldmeilen ) was a Swiss sculptor , painter and draftsman . In addition to figurative animal sculptures, nude figures and relief panels, commissioned works for art in public spaces and art in buildings are among his main works.

Life

Hans Jakob Meyer was born in Zurich in 1903. After attending the arts and crafts school in Zurich, he completed an apprenticeship with the Swiss sculptor Otto Münch . From 1923 to 1926 he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Geneva and worked with James Vibert (master student of A. Rodin) in a plastering workshop. Study visits to Paris, Rome, Florence and Athens followed. By studying the ancient plastic collections in these cities, he oriented himself towards the classical ideals and their formal language.

After his marriage to Lore Bernheimer in 1937 he lived and worked as a freelance sculptor in Feldmeilen. In 1939 he received the 1st prize for the figure group Senn und Stier , which he made for the national exhibition at that time . This work was on view during the entire exhibition in the “Landidörfli”.

From 1950 he received public contracts from the city of Zurich and various other communities. Large public sector contracts include B. Die Schreitende (1971, at the training center of Waid City Hospital ), Boy with Fish (1962, on Seequai, Pfäffikon ZH ), the Schifferbrunnen in Eglisau (1960) or the tomb of Hermann Hesse (1963) in Montagnola. The Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Foundation honored him with a prize in 1953, and the Canton of Zurich awarded him a cultural award in 1979 for his work. For several years (until 1972) he was a member of the Art Commission of the Canton of Zurich. From 1959 to 1972 he taught modeling and life drawing at the Zurich School of Applied Arts. In 1981 Hans Jakob Meyer died in Feldmeilen.

plant

Works for the public

Fuchs, shipping area miles

Hans Jakob Meyer often took part in competitions for the design of school buildings, squares and public facilities. In addition to private contracts, more and more contracts came from municipalities. In this context, selected works by the artist are z. B. in Küsnacht, Meilen, Männedorf, Hombrechtikon, Rapperswil and Zurich. For a fountain in Eglisau, the artist designed the figure of a boatman who, standing on a 4.20 meter high column, appears to be cruising through the sky in his Waidling above the old roofs of the town. A group of animals fox and goose is in miles. On the roof of the ship's station, the goose flaps its wings while the fox stares angrily at it from the ground.

In the execution of the plastic boy with fish on the Pfäffikersee, Meyer made several models that included the surroundings in order to be able to determine the size ratio to the outside staircase on the lake quay. This 4-meter-long sculpture depicts a kneeling boy who is holding an oversized fish in front of him, only to appear to throw it back into the water the next moment. Due to the harmony with the atmosphere of the lake landscape and the contrasting effect of the granite against the blue of the sky and the lake, the figure and location form a unit. Meyer saw his art in public space as a companion in everyday life. To reproduce the experiences and feelings of the people authentically and the identification of the viewer with the representation were of great importance to him.

Reinach, Baselland, Egerten gymnasium, polar bear fountain sculpture, Hans Jakob Meyer (1903–1981) sculptor, draftsman
Polar bear, Reinach

Exhibitions (selection)

literature

  • H. J. Meyer. Sculptor. Life and work. Th. Gut, Stäfa 1988, ISBN 3-85717-047-6 .
  • Badener Tagblatt. 17th October 1987.
  • The New Zurich Times. 10/11. December 1988, No. 289, p. 113.
  • Lake Zurich newspaper. November 22, 1983, No. 273, p. 15.
  • The New Zurich Times. 1./2. December 1979, no.280.

Web links

Commons : Hans Jakob Meyer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A revelation at the Pfäffiker Seequai. Boy with fish. In: Tagblatt des Pfäffikon district. No. 253, July 7, 1962.
personal data
SURNAME Meyer, Hans Jakob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meyer, Hans J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss sculptor, painter and draftsman
DATE OF BIRTH September 11, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH 4th July 1981
Place of death Field miles