Johannes Jackli

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Johannes Jäckli (born May 12, 1899 in Dornach ( Heerbrugg , municipality of Au ), † December 22, 1989 in Dornach SO ) was a Swiss artist and painter.

Childhood and early years

Johannes Jäckli grew up near Heerbrugg in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen . His parents ran a guest house and tavern. After school and business school in Cressier and Neuchâtel, he was trained as a station officer for the Swiss Federal Railways , which he later retired at the age of 26. Jäckli got to know modern art at an early age, especially the works of Ferdinand Hodler and Arnold Böcklin . He steadily expanded his knowledge through books and visiting exhibitions. He used several spa stays as a result of tuberculosis to study art history, philosophy and literature. During this time he met the painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and decided to become an artist and painter. In a letter to his fiancée at the time, Hulda Pfänder, he stated that he was determined to «… develop my method and style through hard work» and saw a determination to «become a role model - or go under.»

Ticino time

Because of Jäckli's health, he and his wife moved to Brione in Ticino because of the mild climate . Jackli tried to gain a foothold as a bookbinder . They came into contact with anthroposophy and became members of the Anthroposophical Society in 1928 . In addition to Jäckli's knowledge of modern painting, there were impulses from anthroposophy. The first large-format watercolors were created in 1935. A first productive creative period followed, mostly with religious motifs, and as an autodidact he developed his own technique in dealing with colors.

From 1938 onwards, Jäckli regularly presented his pictures as part of group exhibitions at the Goetheanum . His works have received positive reviews but not really understood. The journalist and artist Maria Strakosch-Giesler wrote: “Johannes Jäckli loves red. This wants to assert itself on the surface, so it is very difficult to classify its essence really painterly; but in the course of his development he always succeeds in finding better and painterly solutions ».

Exhibition-rich time

In 1946 the couple moved to Dornach in the canton of Solothurn . This was followed by annual group exhibitions at the Goetheanum and elsewhere in Switzerland until 1954. Jäckli was increasingly noticed as a painter, both for his coloring and in the choice of motifs. His style was more pronounced and not comparable to any of the known painting styles. The collaboration with Jérôme Bessenich was particularly significant. Bessenich was later appointed head of the section for fine arts at the School of Spiritual Science and was co-founder of the artists' association “Die Fähre” in 1957, alongside Jérôme Bessenich, Beppe Assenza , Fritz Lobeck, Emil Schweigler and others. In 1958 she was able to organize one of her major exhibitions in the Märkisches Museum in Witten .

Accident and late creative period

At the age of 59, Jäckli suffered serious head injuries in a bicycle accident. After that his pictures became more permeable, transparent and gentle. Over 1000 watercolors followed and, as part of the ferry, further contributions to exhibitions on the ferry. Jäckli contributed three pictures to the traveling exhibition Foundation for the Advancement of Arts and Letters - In Memory of Rudolf Steiner in the USA with works of art by Rudolf Steiner's students on his 100th birthday. The exhibition lasted from 1960 to around 1962, with stops at Columbia University and New York University .

A severe stroke at the age of 81 almost completely ended Jäckli's career. Until his death, however, further pictures with geometric shapes were made with colored pencils.

estate

The artistic and written estate has been secured by the Free Community Bank Foundation in Basel since 2015 and made available to the public. The artistic estate includes around 3000 watercolors and drawings.

Exhibitions

  • 1942: Kunsthalle Basel , twelve painters from around the Goetheanum , group exhibition.
  • 1945: Kunsthalle Bern , artists from the Goetheanum circle , group exhibition.
  • 1945: Kunstverein St. Gallen , ten painters from the Goetheanum circle , group exhibition.
  • 1949: Goetheanum Dornach, group exhibition.
  • 1954: Goetheanum Dornach, group exhibition.
  • 1958: Märkisches Museum , Die Fähre , group exhibition.
  • 1960–1962: Foundation for the Advancement of Arts and Letters - In Memory of Rudolf Steiner , group exhibition, traveling exhibition at Columbia University and New York University , among others
  • 2012: Scala Basel, exhibition Johannes Jäckli , solo exhibition.
  • 2017: Freie Gemeinschaftbank Basel: The Fantastic Worlds of Johannes Jäckli , solo exhibition.

literature

  • Christine E. Gleiny: Visit of the art exhibition at the Goetheanum at Easter. In: Nachrichtenblatt, 1954, p. 85.
  • Maria Strakosch-Giesler: Painting and sculpture as part of the Michaelmas conference. In: Nachrichtenblatt, 1943, p. 167.
  • Andrej Schindler: I am destined to become a role model or to go under. Article about the painter Johannes Jäckli. In: Wochenschrift Das Goetheanum, issue 25, June 16, 2017, p. 10f.
  • Madeleine Ronner: Treasures to Light. Interview with Andrej Schindler and Johannes Nilo. In: Wochenschrift Das Goetheanum, issue 25, June 16, 2017, pp. 6–9.
  • The fantastic worlds of Johannes Jäckli. Swiss Communications-Anthroposophical Society Switzerland, No. VII - VIII, 2017, p. 16.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Announcements of the Free Community Bank Foundation, March 2017 (PDF)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , several spots; accessed on January 2, 2018@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gemeinschaftsbank.ch  
  2. ↑ from correspondence with Hulda Jäckli: in the estate of the Free Community Bank Basel Foundation
  3. ^ Maria Strakosch-Giesler: Painting and sculpture in the context of the Michaelmas conference. In: Nachrichtenblatt 1943, p. 167.
  4. ↑ Free University of Spiritual Science , on the Goetheanum website
  5. ↑ Walter Kugler, Johannes Jäckli: Artists from the circle of the Goetheanum in: Pictures from the Complete Works 1947 to 1961. Ed .: Andrej Schindler, Basel 2017.
  6. ^ Bessenich, Carl Jerome Jérôme , biography, research center for culture impulses
  7. ↑ a b Rudolf Steiner as a cultural factor: echo around the world on the Rudolf Steiner year. (PDF) In: News from the Rudolf Steiner Estate Administration with publications from the archive, No. 8 , Dornach, Christmas 1962, p. 39
  8. ^ Exhibition poster Ten painters from the Goetheanum circle. J. Jäckli estate
  9. ↑ Christine E. Gleiny: Visit to the art exhibition at the Goethenanum at Easter 1954. In: Nachrichtenblatt 1954, p. 85.
  10. ^ Poster exhibition Johannes Jäckli (PDF) , accessed on January 3, 2018
  11. ^ Exhibition Painting - Johannes Jäckli, Die phantastischen Welten des Johannes Jäckli , Freie Gemeinschaftbank Genossenschaft, accessed on January 3, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Jackli, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss artist and painter
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Dornach ( Heerbrugg , municipality of Au )
DATE OF DEATH December 22, 1989
Place of death Dornach SO