Jakob Probst

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Jakob Probst (1880–1966) sculptor, approx. 1914, photographer and location unknown. Photography from the State Archives Liestal, Switzerland
Jakob Probst

Jakob Probst ( completely Johann Jakob Probst , born August 17, 1880 in Reigoldswil , † March 28, 1966 in Gambarogno ; resident in Reigoldswil) was a Swiss sculptor . He lived and worked in Paris , Basel , Peney ( Satigny ) near Geneva and Vira Gambarogno on Lake Maggiore . His works were very large, free-standing stone sculptures, bronze sculptures and reliefs in public spaces.

life and work

The original version of the Wehrmannsdenkmal, where Jakob Probst's urn is embedded in the wall. In memory of the flu and accident deaths in the military service from the Basel region (Spanish flu epidemic 1918). The monument had to be revised in 1934. The sculpture became an oak leaf branch? chiseled out and instead of the open book on his knees, a helmet put on it. This destroyed the sacred symbolism of the work.
The Wehrmannsdenkmal in its original version, Liestal
The female round sculpture from 1923 depicts Anna Haffner. Originally the sculpture was placed on the Steinenschanze. The work emerged as the winner of the project competition of the Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt. Today the sculpture can be seen in front of the Bernoullianum.
The reclining woman, Bernoullianum
http://web68.login-44.hoststar.ch/Wir/BilderWerke/Probst/Basel_BourdRodProbst_Eigene/Probst_BourdRodin_BS.htm
Woman with a mask, Kunsthalle Basel
Jakob Probst (1880–1966), Hodler warrior or Marigiano warrior. 1944–45, originally intended for Ferdinand Hodler, but was inaugurated as a soldier memorial by General Guisan. City park Olten
Hodler Warriors or Marignano Warriors, Olten
Sculpture 1949/1956 for those who fell in the battle of Dornach on July 22nd, 1499. Museum of the Black Boy Country in Dornach
The dying warrior, Dornach

Jakob Probst was born as the son of the watchmaker Johann Probst and the milliner Karoline Zehntner. After a carpenter apprenticeship, he went to the mill in the central Switzerland and in the Eastern Switzerland . In Geneva he worked in a chalet factory . Later he built a double chalet on his own, "Lehmatt" in Reigoldswil. From 1905 to 1907 he attended architecture school in Munich . He worked for a short time as a site manager and then went to Paris to study architecture. He received support for this decision from Otto Plattner . At the Académie de la Grande Chaumière , he completed a modeling course with Antoine Bourdelle . In Bourdelle, Probst found the teacher who knew how to combine plastic thinking with architectural ideas in his sculptures and who recognized his talent for plastic design. In 1912 Probst then went to Florence , Rome , Naples , Foggia , Venice and Bologna for further studies .

Probst lived and worked in Basel from 1913 to 1932. He had his apartment at Spalenberg 12, his studio was behind the SBB train station in the countryside. It was there that he created his first stone-carved works such as the bust of the physicist Eduard Hagenbach , the torso of a fighter and the Roman head . In Biel, Probst created various plastic reliefs for various buildings from 1914 to 1927. In 1916 he created two sphinxes for the crematorium, and from 1919 to 1921 for the Volksbank at Nidaugasse 49, the Sower made of Laufen limestone and various facade elements made of gray artificial stone, such as gold scales, medallions and capitals.

In 1920 Probst took part in a design competition for the planned Wehrmannsdenkmal in Liestal. The jurors were Carl Burkhardt and the architect Hans Bernoulli . Probst won this competition with the design of a wall fountain with a semicircular fountain trough that grows out of the wall, with a dominant kneeling youth carrying an open book on his knees. Behind the figure, which he created based on his admired models from Egypt, the names of those who died of the Spanish flu during the First World War, either directly or outside of military service, were carved into a large plaque. The monument was inaugurated on August 26, 1923, on the anniversary of the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs in 1444.

The Egyptianizing pathos of the kneeling youth met with little understanding among the population at the time. Nicknames such as “Ölgötz” or “Alles Götz” indicate that the sacred content of the monument was felt, but not understood and accepted. This started the heated public discussions about Probst's works. In 1934 the figure, carved from hard Collombey marble, was reworked. A branch was chiseled out of the chest and a helmet was placed in place of the open book. As a result, the formerly sacred character was lost. From 1952 to 1955 the Wehrmannsdenkmal was supplemented with the names of soldiers who died in World War II . The inauguration ceremony took place on June 9, 1955. Probst himself described the monument as his youth work in later years.

The female round sculpture Die Liegende , which was erected in 1923 on what was then the tree-lined green space of Basel's Steinenschanze, met with incomprehension and criticism from the population. The sculpture emerged as the winner in the project competition of the Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt and shows an image of Anna Haffner (1878–1954) from Binningen . She was Probst's student at first and later his partner for many years. In 1971, as part of the redesign of the Steinenschanze, the sculpture was set up in front of the Bernoullianum in Basel.

Ernst Suter and Heinz Fiorese completed their sculpture apprenticeship with Probst. In 1924 Probst went on a four-month study trip to Egypt . Among other things, he visited the pyramids in Cairo , went to Luxor and visited Tutankhamun's tomb . From there he traveled on to Aswan and then from Alexandria back to Brindisi . From this trip he brought back watercolors , photographs and stereoscopic images painted in a fresco- like technique .

He himself saw his works in line with Michelangelo and Auguste Rodin . Probst worked with the artistic means of expression of the non finito , left unfinished. Cuno Amiet commented on Probst's work as follows: “Switzerland has a sculptor again”. Probst's friends included the sculptors Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Hermann Haller and the painters Hans Berger and Ernest Bolens. Probst stayed regularly in Locarno , where he had his models carved out of stone by stone carvers in the studio of his friend, the sculptor Remo Rossi , in order to finish them by hand in the next step. Fritz Bürgin worked temporarily for Probst.

Probst created numerous works for the public that are directly related to the general local or national culture and history, as well as several monuments. The spectrum of his works includes free-standing sculptures made of various types of stone. He created plaster models, stone reliefs, facade reliefs or reliefs on the free-standing stone wall as well as bronze sculptures that are still preserved today . He had these cast in the Rüetschi bell foundry in Aarau until around 1950 . He created portrait busts a. a. by Eduard Hagenbach, Otto Plattner , Caesar von Arx and many people close to him. He created other works from a combination of materials known as "Probststoff", a type of cast concrete, the exact composition of which is not known. The artist Wilhelm Lehmbruck , admired by Probst, had used similar material, some of whose works show a similarity to Probst's works.

In 1931 the Munich Glass Palace burned down completely, and Probst's sculptures were also destroyed in the process. Afterwards he originally wanted to buy the Rifenstein ruins in Reigoldswil with the insured sum , but moved on to Geneva because of his first major order for the Genève-Cornavin train station . This order involved the three large reliefs Pegasus , Mercury and Europe .

With the money he saved and the sum insured in Munich, as well as the income from Geneva, he acquired a property in Peney that was in the middle of a natural landscape with a neighboring horse farm. Inspired by this, numerous sculptures were created in the 1930s, including the Puledro and the Big Traber , which is still in the Mon Repos Park in Geneva today. Probst's cook Fanny Vögelin took care of the household and was compensated for her work in kind in the form of terracotta figures. Over the years, Vögelin collected many photos of Probst and his works, which are now kept in the Basel-Landschaft State Archives .

In 1944, the city of Geneva, together with the Federal Department of the Interior, announced a competition for the erection of a Ferdinand Hodler monument. The jury did not award a first prize for the 24 designs received. However, Probst received the order to create the memorial for Hodler. The 25-ton block of Valais limestone represents a four-meter-high warrior figure, which should be reminiscent of the painting by Hodler's The Battle of Marignano . As soon as it was completed, the jury found the memorial to be too massive and powerful and rejected it. In 1955 the monument was erected as a military monument in the Olten city park.

In 1949 the Philadelphia Museum of Art invited Probst and his friend Hermann Haller to the third international sculpture exhibition. There he exhibited his favorite sculpture, Genius .

In 1955, the Joseph Bovet monument created by Probst was opened in Freiburg in the presence of u. a. Federal President Philipp Etter and General Guisan as well as 3,500 choir members inaugurated.

To mark the centenary of the founding of the International Committee of the Swiss Red Cross , the monument erected by Probst in Geneva in honor of Henry Dunant was inaugurated on May 8, 1963 in the Parc des Bastions.

Probst experienced his socially recognized breakthrough around the age of 60; special honors were awarded to him after he was 70. He was one of the artists who remained creatively active into old age. He took part in numerous international art exhibitions and world exhibitions as well as national exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale and major exhibitions in Paris, Munich, Vienna and Switzerland, among others. He received several art prizes , which were bestowed on him by the Federal President , among others .

In 1945 he married Menga Hemmi (1897–1977) from Churwalden and adopted their daughter from their first marriage. Own biological descendants are not attested. Probst died at the age of 86 in his house in Vira. His urn was buried on March 28, 1967, according to his own wishes, in a niche in the Wehrmannsdenkmal in Liestal. The widow withdrew to Churwalden after Probst's death.

estate

The architect and art patron Max Tüller (1899–1978), who had been friends with Probst since 1916, documented and categorized Probst's estate with a catalog raisonné from 1910 to 1965 and numerous documents and photographs. These documents are kept in the Basel-Landschaft State Archives.

Some of the correspondence between Probst and Rossi is kept in the Fondazione Remo Rossi in Locarno.

Since vandals broke into the orphaned studio in Peney in 1973 and destroyed, damaged or stolen many works, the Reigoldswiler architect and draftsman Max Schneider (1916–2010), with the widow's consent, took about 30 sculptures from the devastated studio. These were temporarily stored in Reigoldswil in an empty factory building. Numerous works subsequently came into private possession, the origin or legal acquisition of which cannot be verified. It was therefore not possible to create a comprehensive, well-founded catalog of works. A well-founded monograph with a comprehensive catalog of works is still missing today.

In 1976, Radio DRS broadcast a documentary about Probst's life. Professor Rodolphe Imhoff, the widow Menga-Hemmi, the Ticinese sculptor Remo Rossi and his wife Bianca, the politician Leo Lejeune and his former student Heinz Fiorese took part in the program.

Jakob Probst-Platz in front of the community center in Reigoldswil has been named after him since August 1st, 1991.

Works (selection)

Sissach cemetery, fountain, terracotta relief from 1919 or 1924 by Jakob Probst (1880–1966),
Terracotta relief, Sissach cemetery
Henry Dunant Monument, Parc des Bastions in Geneva.
Henry Dunant Monument , Parc des Bastions in Geneva
  • The lying of 1920/1923, which in Basel before today Bernoullianum stands
  • Faun with animal employment office fountain, Utengasse 32, Basel, 1932
  • Wehrmannsdenkmal in Liestal, where Probst's urn is also embedded in the wall (1920–1923 / 1925, revised 1934)
  • Steel helmet soldier and the three graces (but “the three Parzen” would be correct) at the Kunstmuseum Basel , 1937
  • Pegasus, Mercury, Europe, three large reliefs on the front of the Cornavin train station (main station) in Geneva, 1930
  • Country girl, in Binningen , 1930
  • Sower, in the old cemetery (Knochnepärkli) in Riehen, 1933
  • Genius , Reigoldswil community, Olten crematorium, FHNW Brugg-Windisch, his “favorite work”, 1933/1936, 1949 third international sculpture exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
  • Bust of Pope Pius II / Enea Silvio Piccolomini (lat.Aeneas Sylvius), founder of the University of Basel , 1939
  • Musika mit Harp or the floating , a facade sculpture at the Conservatory for Music in Bern, 1940
  • Elektra on Kreuzackerquai, by the bridge in Solothurn and in the park of the “Nägelin Foundation” retirement home in Pratteln , 1939
  • Sculpture for the construction fair Creation and Worry in the war, sample fair in Basel, 1942
  • Hodler monument (or the Marignano warrior) , soldier monument in the Olten city ​​park , 1944/45
  • The 22-meter-long battle memorial in front of the Capuchin monastery in Dornach , 1945–1948 and the Dornacher Gedenktaler.
  • Sculpture competition for the entrance to the Kunstmuseum Luzern , 1945
  • Facade sculpture The Floating Woman, the Doctor and the Boy at the University Hospital Basel (front), 1951
  • Henry Dunant Monument , Parc des Bastions in Geneva, also known as the Red Cross Monument , 1963
  • Grosse Diana , village square in Reigoldswil (former location: Kantonalbank in Liestal)
  • Awakening , in the park near the Cantonal Library in Aarau , 1946/1958
  • Columbus , in front of the Wirtschaftsgymnasium / Wirtschaftsmittelschule (WMS, formerly KHS), Basel, 1950
  • Abbé Bovet memorial , Schützenmatte, Freiburg im Üechtland , 1955
  • Eber , Centralplatz, bridgehead in Olten, 1961
  • Little Diana , in the garden of the Kollegienhaus of the University of Basel, 1956
  • Heiny Strübin memorial , in front of the old armory, Liestal, 1963
  • The swearing man , Ebenrain Castle Park in Sissach, 1957
  • Le Poulain - the foal , Parc Moynie / Rue de Lausanne in Geneva, 1963
  • Horse or foal , Ebenrain Castle Park in Sissach , 1965
  • David and Goliath , park by the school buildings in Reigoldswil, 1965
  • Convalescent , in front of the Baselland Cantonal Hospital in Liestal, probably after 1960
  • Ikarus , cast between 1968 and 1980, in front of the community center in Reigoldswil

Exhibitions (selection)

Awards and honors (selection)

  • Birthplace of Jakob Probst (1880–1966) Dorfplatz 15, Reigoldswil. The centaur relief comes from Jakob Probst. It was only installed after Probst's death in 1966. The year 1677 shown can be found on a neighboring house. Probst's mother Karolina Zehntner probably grew up in Haus zum Reifenstein. It was built by an ancestor around 1840

    Jakob Probst's birthplace in Reigoldswil

  • Jakob Probst (1880–1966), 1956, The convalescent in front of the Cantonal Hospital in Liestal

    The convalescent, 1956, Liestal

  • Detail from the 22 meter long battle memorial in front of the Capuchin monastery in Dornach from 1945–48. The soldier, second from the right, wears the same headgear and cap as Jakob Probst

    Detail, battle memorial, 1945–1948, Dornach

  • Jakob Probst (1880–1966), Wehrmannsdenkmal 1923–1934 for the flu and accident deaths from the Basel region (flu epidemic 1918) at the government building (south side) in Liestal. His urn (inscription) is to the left of the fountain.

    Wehrmannsdenkmal with urn niche, Liestal

  • Jakob Probst (1880–1966), memorial on the Zeughausbrunnen in Liestal (1957) for the Liestal landlord Heiny Heinrich Strübin, participant in the battle of Nancy

    Heinrich Strübin , 1957, Liestal

  • Jakob Probst (1880–1966), Columbus, 1950. The sculpture is on the right side of the Wirtschaftsgymnasium, Wirtschaftsmittelschule Basel (playground)

    Columbus, 1950, Basel

  • Ikarus , 1966–1980, Reigoldswil

literature

  • Max Tüller: Jakob Probst, catalog raisonné 1910–1940 , Baselbieter Heimatblätter, pages 318–328, August 1940
  • Max Tüller: Jakob Probst, catalog raisonné 1940–1960 , Baselbieter Heimatblätter, pages 362–367, August 1960
  • List of works. Art Museum Olten. (With some listed works by Jakob Probst)
  • Peter Ammann: Jakob Probst “Eber” in Olten In: Oltner Neujahrsblätter , Vol. 20, 1962, pp. 61–63
  • Piero Bianconi, Alberto Flammer: Jakob Probst. Edition darte 4 R, Locarno 1965.
  • Education Department Basel-Stadt. Jakob Probst. In: Art for Basel: 75 years of art credit Basel-Stadt. Art in public space. Schwabe Verlag, Basel 1974, ISBN 3-7965-0968-1 .
  • Eberhard W. Kornfeld and Klipstein: Swiss art from the Josef Müller collection. Bern 1978.
  • Hermann Frey: The sculptor Jakob Probst and the city of Olten . In: Oltner Neujahrsblätter , Vol. 37, 1979, pp. 18-22.
  • Painter and sculptor of the Basler Künstler Gesellschaft 1850–1950. (Among others with Jakob Probst.) On the exhibition in the Kunsthalle Basel, July 13, 1980 to September 14, 1980, ISBN 3-7965-0767-0 .
  • Collection catalog. Volume 2. Works of the 20th century, from Cuno Amiet to today. Aargauer Kunsthaus. Aarau 1983.
  • Sandor Kuthy: The sculptures and objects. Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern 1986, ISBN 978-3-906628-02-8 .
  • Serge Brignoni, Markus Britschgi, Robert Th. Stoll: The Robert Spreng Collection. Essays. Reiden parish, 1989.
  • Agathe Straumann, Department of Education Basel-Stadt: Art for Basel. 75 years of Kunstkredit Basel. Schwabe Verlag, Basel 1994, ISBN 3-7965-0968-1 .
  • Benno Schubiger: The monuments to the Dornach Battle: from the late medieval ossuary to the modern monumental relief. In: Jahrbuch für Solothurnische Geschichte, Vol. 72: “An sant maria magtalena day, a great battle”, commemorative publication 500 years battle near Dornach 1499–1999. Vogt-Schild / Habegger Medien, Solothurn 1999, pp. 301–338.
  • Georg Kreis: A time sign for eternity. 300 years of Swiss monument topography. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-03823-417-3 .
  • Stefan Rimmel: Driftwood in the tourist stream. Books on Demand, Nordstedt 2011.
  • Robert Tiphaine: Jakob Probst: Un compromis entre tradition et modernité: Sculpter et commémorer en Suisse , PDF , Université de Friborg, 2012

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rolf Wirz: Probst Biography. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  2. ^ Academy of Fine Arts, Munich: Jakob Probst, No. 323 in the register book. Retrieved June 11, 2019 .
  3. ^ Rolf Wirz: Volksbank Biel, facade elements, gold scales, medallions, capitals. Retrieved September 9, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Rolf Wirz: Scandal 29. Retrieved on May 3, 2019 .
  5. ^ Ruedi Brassel-Moser : From the open book to the helmet: Power of interpretation and memory using the example of the Basel military monument in Liestal. E-Peroidica, accessed August 20, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Baselland State Archives: The Baselland military monument in Liestal. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  7. ^ Rudolf Riggenbach: The reclining figure. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Haffner, Anna. In: Sikart
  9. ^ Agathe Straumann: Art for Basel. 75 years of Kunstkredit Basel . Ed .: Department of Education Basel-Stadt.
  10. ↑ Suter, Ernst. In: Sikart
  11. ^ Rolf Wirz: Hermann Haller. Retrieved April 30, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Various Artists: Sculpture Genius, can be seen in the foreground of the second photos (b / w). Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Old Wolf: Sculpture Genius can be seen in the background. Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
  14. ^ Art Freiburg: Monument Abbé Joseph Bovet, 1955. Retrieved September 13, 2019 .
  15. ↑ On inaugure à Genève un monument à la mémoire de Henry Dunant , in: International Review of the Red Cross, edition of June 1, 1963, pp. 296-301.
  16. ↑ Rolf Wirz: Monument Henry Dunant. Retrieved September 12, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Rolf Wirz: Scandal 31. Retrieved on May 3, 2019 .
  18. ^ Rolf Wirz: Max Schneider. Retrieved April 30, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Chronicle 1991 on the website of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft , accessed on June 28, 2019.
  20. ↑ 1932, Faun with animal. In: brunnenfuehrer.ch. Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Baselland State Archives: Probst's ashes in the Wehrmannsdenkmal in Liestal. In: geschichte.bl.ch. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Michael Raith : People from the Spittelhof. In: Yearbook z'Rieche . 1996, accessed November 10, 2019 .
  23. ^ Architecture and Art: 1939, bust of Pope Pius II. In: e-periodica.ch. Retrieved October 20, 2019 .
  24. ^ Regina Bühlmann: Inventory of immobile art in the city of Bern 1929–1989. In: Bern journal for history and local history. 1990, Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
  25. ^ Baselland State Archives: Probst with the monumental figure Elektra. In: geschichte.bl.ch. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  26. ^ Architecture and Art: Sculpture, Basel Sample Fair. In: e-periodica.ch. Retrieved October 21, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Rolf Wirz: Hodler Memorial (Marignano warriors) in Geneva. In: rowicus.ch. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
  28. ↑ a b 1946 competition tender for the battle memorial. In: Swiss art = Art suisse = Arte svizzera = Swiss art
  29. ↑ Baselland State Archives: Battle Memorial in Dornach. geschichte.bl.ch, accessed on March 25, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Dornach Memorial Thaler
  31. ^ Sculpture competition, 1945
  32. ↑ Max Tüller: How the Henry Dunant Monument was created. Retrieved October 20, 2019 .
  33. ^ Art Freiburg: Abbé Bovet Monument. In: res.friportail.ch. Retrieved April 30, 2019 .
  34. ^ Oltner Neujahrsblätter: Eber. In: e-periodica.ch. Retrieved October 20, 2019 .
  35. ^ Rudolf Riggenbach: 1952, Hans Berger and Jakob Probst. Retrieved January 13, 2020 .
  36. ↑ Hans Berger: 1952, Jakob Probst and Hans Berger. Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
  37. ↑ Chronicle of the Canton of Basel-Land: Exhibition in Park Ebenrain. Retrieved March 26, 2019 .
  38. ^ Swiss Radio and Television, Zurich: 1965, film about the exhibition by Jakob Probst in Schloss Ebenrain. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .
  39. ^ Reigoldswil website: Certificate of honorary citizenship of the Reigoldswil community. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Probst, Jakob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Probst, Johann Jakob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH 17th August 1880
PLACE OF BIRTH Reigoldswil
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1966
Place of death Gambarogno TI