Jean Moeglé

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Jean Moeglé

Jean Moeglé , actually Johann Christian Moegle (born November 3, 1853 in Birkach / Stuttgart , † December 3, 1938 in Thun ) was a Swiss photographer.

Life

After a three-year apprenticeship with Jakob Höflinger (1819–1892) in Basel , Jean Moeglé worked as an assistant in a photo studio in Lausanne and with Adolphe Braun (1812–1877) in Mühlhausen . By his brother who is already in Thun worked, Jean Mögle was a first time to Thun. From 1882 onwards, Moeglé definitely established itself in Thun, first as an employee of Johann Rudolf Bühlmann (1836–1883), then with his own studio. 1884 Marries the local Marie-Louise Moser (1855–1944). In 1885 he was naturalized in Thun, and in the same year he opened a branch in the Hotel Gurnigelbad . A year later he was one of the founders of the Swiss Photographers Association. In the heyday of his studio, Moeglé also trained apprentices, including Albert Steiner (1877–1965). It is not known when he stopped actively taking photos; it must have been in the late 1920s / early 1930s. Although very successful as a photographer, he died impoverished because he lost a large part of his fortune through a bad investment in an unprofitable hotel project. The small remainder of the original more than 70,000 glass plates was donated from his studio to the Bern Burger Library .

Oldest known color photograph of the Bernese Oberland. Photo by Jean Moeglé.

Moeglé was an extremely versatile photographer. He took portraits not only in the studio but also at the client's place of residence. He was very mobile; its radius of action was around 30 kilometers. In addition to buildings, he also documented entire companies and their work processes. He also benefited from the upswing in tourism during the Belle Epoque in the Bernese Oberland; He not only brought tourists to his studios in Thun and Gurnigelbad, but also followed them into the mountains during their sporting activities. One of his most prominent customers was certainly Wilhelmina , the Queen of the Netherlands, whom he photographed on the occasion of her spa stays in Bad Heustrich. He was therefore allowed to call himself "Her Majesty's Court Photographer". Moeglé's recordings were known for their high quality. But technically, too, it was at the forefront of developments at the end of the 19th century. So he developed a process for large enlargements and experimented with color photography; as early as 1901 he produced color slides. Moeglé achieved international fame with his recordings. A silver medal at the world exhibition in Paris in 1889 is evidence of this .

literature

  • Burgerbibliothek Bern (Ed.): The Bernese photography pioneer Jean Moeglé. Mountains, hotels and salons . Bern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7272-1231-4
  • Markus Krebser: Jean Moeglé (1853-1938). In: Paul Hugger: The Bernese Oberland and its photographers. About glistening firn, smart tourists and perfectly formed cows . Thun 1995, ISBN 3-85777-134-8
  • É.P .: Coup d'oeil sur l'Exposition genevoise de Photographie . In: Revue suisse de photographie 2 (1890), issue 10, p. 310

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Burgergemeinde Thun (Ed.): Burgerbuch Thun . Thun 1997, p. 197 .
  2. ↑ Bernhard Giger: The charming perfectionist behind the camera. In: Burgerbibliothek Bern (Ed.): The Bern photography pioneer Jean Moeglé. Mountains, hotels and salons. Bern 2012, p. 13 .
personal data
SURNAME Moeglé, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Moegle, Johann Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss photographer
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH Birkach (Stuttgart)
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 1938
Place of death Tuna