Meinrad Burch-Korrodi

Meinrad Burch-Korrodi in his former jewelry store at Bahnhofstrasse 44 in Zurich

Meinrad Burch-Korrodi (born May 27, 1897 in Giswil , † May 21, 1978 in Zollikon ) was a Swiss goldsmith and collector of graphic art from the canton of Obwalden . As a goldsmith, he achieved new possibilities of expression in the field of sacred art through the return to function and form and thus overcame the break in his art field that had been brought about by the machine-dominated 20th century, which was characterized by industrial production.

Burch and his workshop created both profane and sacred objects. These included goblets , godparents , cibories , eastern sensoria , monstrances , tabernacles , candle sticks, baptismal trimmings and stones, bishop and abbot insignia , sculptural works, jewelery, tea and coffee services, jardinières , silver cutlery, medallions , profane cups and rings . Burch's fame is mainly connected to the reliquary erected in 1934 for the remains of Brother Klaus in the parish and pilgrimage church of Sachseln .

Life

childhood and education

The early encounter with traditional crafts and the mystical-religious, which was omnipresent in the Obwalden landscape of the saint of peace and hermit Brother Klaus , had a significant impact on his childhood and later his work. Even in the sixth primary class, Burch attended evening courses at the Lucerne School of Applied Arts , although it was still forbidden at that age, and thus gained an early insight into the history of European style.

After finishing school, he started an apprenticeship in the Lucerne gold and silversmith's workshop Louis Ruckli in 1913 and trained as a goldsmith, silversmith and engraver . During this time he also attended courses at the Lucerne School of Applied Arts to further his education. After completing his apprenticeship, he went to London at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts LCC founded by William Morris ' friend WR Lethaby (1857-1931) , which was fully geared towards a revival of the old handicrafts. This is where Burch's basic understanding of the essence of real craftsmanship was shaped. In London, he worked alongside school for an English jewelry studio, which supplied the exclusive shops on Bond Street with jewelry. In 1924 Burch went to New York for further training. He found work in Davidson and Schwab's shop before he returned to Europe in 1925 , to Paris , where he also familiarized himself with practical work in a goldsmith's business.

During his stays abroad, he benefited not only from the training at the schools and in the workshops, but above all from the numerous museum visits and the examination of art and its tendencies. This also resulted in a great interest in Le Corbusier's rejection of decorative art, the attitude of which was of decisive importance for Burch's work.

Return to Switzerland

In 1925 Meinrad Burch returned to Lucerne and opened his own goldsmith's studio there. At first he mainly focused on making jewelry, but that changed a year later. From then on his liturgical implements were to become the main part of his work. The special thing about his new shop was that practically everything he offered was manufactured in his own studio according to his own designs. Even then he had good contacts with the clergy in Central Switzerland, which soon led to a mutually fruitful relationship. His artistic development went in a straight line towards ever greater simplicity and simplicity and the emphasis was on the constructive and the strict order. During these years Burch married his first wife Martha Korrodi (1925), with whom he had three daughters.

The former Burch-Korrodi shop at Bahnhofstrasse 44 in Zurich

After seven years, he moved his workshop to Zurich in 1932 . Burch expected Zurich to grow and gain recognition in his work, particularly as a jeweler . His shop was on Bahnhofstrasse , in good company with the most famous jewelers in Switzerland.

As early as 1930, the trade journal Deutsche Goldschmiedekunst dedicated a four-page report to him, in which numerous profane works from his work were presented. The interest in the work of Meinrad Burch-Korrodi and his workshop grew from then on, and even in what was then Zurich the goldsmith, who came from the arch-Catholic central Switzerland, and his studio were completely recognized. This was by no means a given. From 1928 Burch-Korrodi took part in national and international exhibitions, such as in 1930 at the Third International Exhibition of Contemporary Art in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In 1934 one of the main works was created, the life-size silver reliquary of Holy Brother Klaus for the parish and pilgrimage church of Sachseln .

In the 1950s, other figurative sculptures were created , such as a Virgin and Child for the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Aarau (above the right side altar), or a bronze colossal figure of a Christ for the Christ Church in Nuremberg, Germany. In 1951, Burch received the gold ring of honor in goldsmithing . This award is the highest international distinction that can be bestowed on a goldsmith and it distinguishes him as a leading European master.

In 1955 the production, especially the goblets, grew many times over. Deliveries were made all over the world, but mainly to the USA. Due to the immense demand, the overview of the large number of liturgical devices produced is lost. In the hustle and bustle, clients were hardly registered anymore. For this reason, the whereabouts of many objects are unknown.

After the death of his first wife, Burch married Hedwig Wyser in 1959, who worked in the shop on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse for nine years and was responsible for correspondence with customers from all over the world, accounting and sales.

Until the business end in 1967, Burch continued to develop the form of sacred and profane products. He passed his business on to goldsmith Christoph Trudel.

On May 21, 1978, Meinrad Burch, a pioneer of modern church art, died.

The Burch-Korrodi workshop

The Burch-Korrodi goldsmith's workshop in Zurich

Between six and twenty people were employed in the Burch-Korrodi workshop over the years. Burch's commercial talent made it possible to ideally fill the various tasks in the workshop. He knew exactly which talent he had to use where in order to achieve the greatest possible success. So it was v. a. Burch's job was to hold the strings together in the business and to get orders, which he succeeded in doing thanks to his good network of relationships. The high quality of the designs and the professional processing of the materials is mainly due to the employees of the Burch-Korrodi workshop. Four of the employees played a particularly important role: Heinrich Baumann, who worked in the workshop from 1933 to 1942, and Kurt Aepli between 1942 and 1967, were not only involved in the craftsmanship, but also in the artistic design, especially the plastic Work involved. The third person to be mentioned is Martin Bucher, who not only completed his apprenticeship in the Burch-Korrodi workshop, but stayed with the company until the end and who enjoyed great recognition from Burch and his employees. From 1962, Bucher headed the workshop as technical manager and accordingly implemented all artistic designs technically. Finally, the Norwegian enameller Berger Bergersen should also be mentioned, who has made great contributions to the success of the enamelled devices and objects during the last few years of the workshop.

Even if the design and execution was tied to Meinrad Burch's ideas and ideals, he gave his employees the utmost freedom in structuring their work with their versatile talents and skills. This life's work would have been unthinkable without the commitment of the many employees.

The Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Collection

The collection exhibition is located in the basement of the former college in Sarnen

On February 26, 1972, Meinrad Burch and his wife Hedwig Maria Burch-Wyser established the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Graphic Collection. The purpose of the foundation is to store Burchs' groupage and to make it accessible to the public in exhibitions. The endowment consists of the Burch-Korrodi graphic collection on the one hand, and gold and silversmith work by Meinrad Burch on the other. In addition to the actual graphics, the collection also includes hand drawings, watercolors , gouaches and oil paintings as well as a collection of historical photographs from Obwalden.

Josef (Giuseppe) Haas-Triverio (1889–1963), Innebach-Alphütte Sachseln, undated, oil on cardboard, 349 × 272 mm

Among other things, a number of hand drawings by the painter Ludwig Vogel (1788–1879), a portrait collection by Franz Andreas Heymann (1798–1873), a collection of oil paintings and woodcuts by Giuseppe Haas-Triverio (1889–1963), a series of portraiture and figure drawings by Wilhelm Balmer (1865–1922) (these have been missing since the 2005 flood ) and numerous examples of Obwalden folk art are represented in the collection.

As in his work, his interest in collecting was aimed at making changes in the present recognizable as such. His collection was intended to challenge the viewer to take a critical view of the changing homeland. In this sense, the collection of graphic sheets was continuously supplemented by mostly self-made photographs and incorporated into the collection.

The collection was donated to the canton of Obwalden. In order to make the gold and silversmith's work from the Zurich studio accessible to the public, an exhibition room was created in 2007 in the basement of the education and culture department in the former college . In 1972 Burch-Korrodi gave the documentation on his church work to the Engelberg monastery archive .

plant

Starting point for Burch's work

The situation in the area of sacred art or craftsmanship around 1900 was at a low point. With the advent of industrial production, there was more and more series production and the centuries-old continuous development in the arts and crafts area was interrupted. Anyone who wanted a sacred goldsmith's work either had to be content with a series product from the catalog, or one went to a goldsmith who made a handcrafted style copy in Gothic or Baroque that was sufficiently compromised by the machine imitation. The result were pseudo-baroque or pseudo-Gothic works that increasingly took the place of artistically designed individual pieces. It was not until around 1910 that individual modern and custom-made items appeared, most of which came from abroad. There was only one goldsmith in Switzerland, Arnold Stockmann (1882–1963), who also made bespoke items. He can be described as the founder of the new church goldsmith's art in Switzerland.

Then around 1925 there was a small group of young goldsmiths who advocated a formal renewal of their work and offered work, individually crafted items that were linked by a new, cool sense of form. Meinrad Burch also belonged to this young vanguard. Other goldsmiths and silversmiths who tried to renew church art were: Anton Blöchlinger (St. Gallen), Marcel Feuillat (Geneva) and the gold and silversmiths Buck, as well as Bick (Wil). Arnold Stockmann from Lucerne and his students Max Fröhlich , Martha Flüeler-Haefely and others were considered to be innovators for central Switzerland . In contrast to Stockmann, Burch soon distanced himself from the historicizing style borrowings that had shaped his liturgical implements of the 1920s. He gave the church objects new impulses with regard to a renewal and standardization of form.

Renewal tendencies

Art in Europe at the end of the 19th century was shaped by the attempt to fundamentally change the way of life and art. In the midst of this general upheaval in classical modernism , Art Déco emerged , a style that gave design connotations to the elegance of the form, the material-appropriate processing, the intensity of the colors and the sensuality of the subject. Much of this conception was already laid out in Art Nouveau , which achieved a reorientation in the area of ornament with its decorative curved lines, floral elements and symmetries . Both Art Nouveau and Art Déco were fundamentally about turning away from historicism . H. to rejection of the previous reproduction of historically transmitted forms. The State Bauhaus , founded by Walter Gropius , was created in 1919 parallel to Art Déco . The aim of the Bauhaus was, on the one hand, to dissolve the distinction between artist and craftsman and, on the other hand, to replace art from industrial mass production and to find its way back to individual handicrafts. As with Art Nouveau and Art Déco, this meant a departure from historicism and the serial copy of historical objects. It is about a return to the craft and the creative task or the development of a new design language that does justice to the industrial manufacturing process.

Coffee and tea service, 1930, silver, ebony handle, whereabouts unknown

Meinrad Burch-Korrodi's training took place against this background and decisively shaped his conception and perception. His work emerged between decorative elegance, interest in the arts and crafts and cool objectivity; in a correlation between function and form. It became Burch-Korrodi's life's task to generate a new design language. He wanted to reveal the real essence of an object, which was free of seemingly unchangeable conceptions of how something should look, and to free an object of all superfluous ballast in order to concentrate fully on the form. Burch and his colleagues developed their devices from the simplest of basic geometric shapes, such as circles, oval, spheres, cylinders. Decorative elements increasingly dwindled. At the beginning there are still many playful elements of Art Nouveau and Art Deco in the works, while in the later years the clear, simple form dominates and everything superfluous seems to be dropped.

Technology and material

The technology and the possibilities of the material were fundamental elements of a work and formed the basis for a design. Material and technology largely determined the shape and thus shaped the style of every object. It was also fundamental that any valuation was initially lost due to the future purpose of the object being created. The main thing was to achieve a performance that was technically and artistically justifiable.

Design principle of bent gold wire: Brooch with colored gemstone and five brilliant-cut diamonds, around 1965, soldered

Wire and sheet metal formed the basis of the structure of all pieces of jewelry and of every liturgical or profane work. These two materials were subjected to the processes of hammering, pressing, pressing, bending, cutting, sawing, punching and soldering. While efforts were still made in the Baroque to hide the basic materials wire and sheet metal, the work of the Burch-Korrodi workshop is visibly composed of these basic forms. The visibility of the materials creates an honesty, which gives an idea of ​​the work processes and structure. It is a return to the elementary, a reflection on the fundamentals.

In addition to classic design materials such as various precious metals and gemstones , the Burch studio also used other materials to create other, less common contrasting effects. For example, it was used for local rock crystal . The use of rock crystal for liturgical utensils and vessels was not new: Already in the 11th and 12th centuries , handles were combined with rock crystal. Burch continued this idea in his work and developed it in the direction of his conception of clear form. The two pure materials work together without disturbing each other; the simple shape of the goblet is not overshadowed by the rock crystal, but supported in its effect.

Attempts were also made in the Burch-Korrodi workshop to contrast the surfaces of the precious metals with color. Burch was already experimenting with Chinese lacquer in the Lucerne workshop . Later, enamel was used as a design element for the same purpose , at first only to accentuate a few areas of an object, and then increasingly to design entire surfaces. These large-scale enamelling and complete over-enamelling on liturgical implements from the Burch-Korrodi workshop are the first ever known. Enamel shows itself through its opaque or transparent color, which contrasts with the gold or silver used and creates a transcendent effect. Depending on how grainy the enamel powder is, the precious metal underneath shimmers through. The more granular the powder, the more transparent the enamel work looks. Accordingly, a very finely ground enamel powder gives an opaque consistency, so that the enamel, as an opaque color, has its own value and sets itself apart from the precious metal.

Shortly before the workshop was closed, from 1962, goblets were made that were not only enamelled on the outside, but also inside the cup . This was due to the provisions of the Second Vatican Council , which were changed with regard to the choice and combination of materials. This influenced the interplay of form and effect and made new approaches possible.

Liturgical devices

Chalices

Measuring chalice, around 1955, silver, gilded, dissolved nodus in the form of four rock crystals, whereabouts unknown

The chalice forms the center of the work of the Burch-Korrodi workshop. The search for the essence of the shape of the chalice occupied the goldsmith all his life.

Burch's first production phase was still characterized by tradition and historical style borrowing. The Gothicized designs of these goblets, made between 1926 and 29, are missing, presumably because Burch-Korrodi removed them himself. For him there was no connection with the later development of his vessels, which made this work irrelevant.

In a second creative phase between 1930 and 1938, Burch began to question and rethink the shape of the chalice as a liturgical object. It show up Art Deco elements, wherein this mid- 30s begin to be reversed again and convert strictly geometric in direction angular and planar forms of Art Deco style. Typical are flat, round feet, indented shaft parts and round, disk-shaped nodules, strictly profiled and articulated shafts, use of enamel (preferably for shafts), delimitation of the individual parts and shapes by segments. The cuppa of the Art Déco goblets is hemispherical and unadorned.

In the third phase from 1938 to 1950 there is a return to the Romanesque goblet. For Burch, the tassilo chalice from the 8th century was an inspiration for the further development of the form in terms of its purpose orientation and zeitgeist . In terms of form, it is primarily the foot that changes, which becomes cone-like and begins to form a unit with the node . The nodus is increasingly being dissolved and replaced, for example, by a series of figures. The Cuppa is also getting lower, more cup-shaped and growing in size. In the 1940s , large-scale cell enamel depictions with large soldered figures on the cuppa and foot / nodus dominated.

Primiz chalice by Canon Joseph Vonlanthen, 1954, enamelled, silver inner cup

From 1950 onwards, the basic shape of the chalice was increasingly simplified. The goals are greater handiness and the greatest possible harmony between the goblet parts. The cuppa develops into a floating bowl, similar to a fruit bowl, which stands on a small funnel-shaped foot. Due to its size and simple surface treatment, the Cuppa and thus the moment of the Eucharist are the focus. The Nodus has now completely dissolved. In parallel to these tendencies, a new interpretation of Christian representations and symbols is taking place. There are new symbols, mostly created by employee Kurt Aepli , which are used as small representations on almost all liturgical vessels on the surface of the chalice.

In the mid- 1950s , the cuppa was either provided with enamel depictions or with a monochrome enamel surface. It varies in shape from hemispherical to drinking cup-shaped. The calyx feet take on funnel shapes and give the goblets the appearance of a double cup. The nodus is no longer used, it is replaced by stone nocks (rock crystals) or mounted plaques with relief figures or animals.

The goblets from the 1960s onwards no longer bring any major innovations. Due to new church regulations in accordance with the decision of the Second Vatican Council , the inner cupa could now also be enamelled and rhodium-plated. There are several main forms that occur next to one another in time: the first is a straight, tall, almost uninterrupted chalice shape that developed around 1960. The second shows a cup in the form of a lampshade. These are made around 1965. The third and last shape consists of the little handles, which represent the end of the shape.

Cibories

The ciborium is a vessel with a lid that has the function of keeping the consecrated hosts until they are donated. It is kept in the tabernacle to this day . After the donation, the ciborium is purified or rubbed with a cloth and stored in the sacristy . The original shape of the ciborium was that of a bread plate or bread bowl.

Ciborium with lid, 1951, silver, gold-plated, over-enameled white, with gold wire soldering, location Allerheiligen-Kirche Basel

At the end of the 1920s , the Burch-Korrodi workshop began producing ciborien. The shape of the host bowls from the Burch-Korrodi workshop shows a similar development to the chalices, apart from the function- related larger cup and the lid with which they were closed. Until the beginning of the 1950s , due to church regulations, the usual ciborium consisted of a foot, a nodus and a cuppa with a lid. The vessel was usually crowned with a cross-shaped knob or a Christ monogram (JHS).

From the beginning of the 1950s there was a break in the design of cibories and goblets. When the nodus began to dissolve in the goblets, the goldsmith also considered the shape of the ciborium for the first time. His request was a filigree, openwork solution for the vessel. He took up the ideas of the early Christian bread bowls and developed them further in accordance with his contemporary conception. The bread bowl without a foot or lid was always his concern. At that time, however, it was the rule and custom to create a small, low standing ring in place of a foot for the purpose of handling when distributing the host. For reasons of hygiene, the lid of the ciborium could not be dispensed with at this point in time. But later examples also show cibories without a lid. However, the realization of these pieces was always tied to the ideas of the client, who often preferred cibories with a lid due to practical considerations (e.g. due to the humidity).

At the beginning of the 1960s , the vessel was formally transformed into a round, tall container with a flat lid. Some of these cibories resemble the goblets with the fruit bowl cuppa. The surfaces of the vessels are usually provided with a transparent enamel . As a result of changes in the provisions of the Second Vatican Council , more and more host bowls are being created that are designed both for the hosts of the faithful and for the great host of the priest . They replace the godparents .

Monstrances

Radiant monstrance, 1950 (designed in 1939), silver, domed rondelles made of crystal glass, brilliant-cut rock crystals, glass knob with silver figures on top, location Schönenwerd Catholic Church

The monstrance that displays the consecrated host to the faithful is relieved of its practical function. Their prerequisites are their visibility from a distance and a reasonable weight. For Meinrad Burch, the fact that the monstrance only serves to visualize represented not only greater artistic freedom, but also the danger that the designer could succumb to his fantasies and thus neglect the search for clear form. Of course, the main goal here was to free the form from everything superfluous and to create clear form structures. Nevertheless, the monstrance had to be a precious container for the host.

Burch's first monstrances probably originated around 1928 and were still characterized by historicizing bonds. They are based on the form of the Gothic tower monstrances, but are combined and further developed with the formal language of Art Deco . Circle, nymph and disc monstrances were created.

After numerous attempts to develop the design of monstrances using Gothic-inspired devices, the idea came up at the end of the 1940s to take up the baroque sun or ray monstrance and further develop it according to contemporary ideas. The workshop adopted the principle with the rays of metal rods emerging from the capsule / lunula . There were radiation monstrances with metal or glass circles soldered onto the front and back. This double-sidedness of the devices gave them a three-dimensionality and the back should also meet aesthetic requirements.

From the mid-1950s to the 1960s, the monstrance did not strive for simplicity, analogous to all other objects in Burch's work. The result was very playful monstrances with Velum cladding, which were new in terms of the idea, but did not correspond to the ideas that were striven for and were therefore too tied to the fashionable tendencies of that time.

From this detour, however, a new approach arose which again ties in with Burch-Korrodi's guiding principle. Decorative elements are now completely detached from the lunula. Simple and limited design dominates the appearance of the monstrances and all distracting accessories dissolve. The shape of the device actually only consists of a foot, a rod and a glass host capsule. An example of this is the monstrance, which was created in 1954 for the Antonius Church in Lucerne and based on the motif of the tree of life .

Contest monstrance by Beromünster, 1959, attachable flower wreath with 75 brilliant cut rock crystals, white enamelled back

In 1959 a monstrance was created that cannot be compared with any other monstrance in the Burch-Korrodi workshop: the Beromünster driveway monstrance . It is a red enamelled disc, 32 cm in diameter, designed so that it can be worn around the neck of the priest during the procession (on horseback). In the middle of the object there is a removable wreath of flowers set with precious stones . The challenge in the creation of this work was the entanglement of the ideas of the founder, who wanted to see the object with as much symbolic content as possible, and that of the artist, who wanted to keep the formal design free from too much symbolism and content in favor of simplicity. There are narrative and figurative elements in the end product, but these are limited to a minimum and standardized. The removable gemstone wreath is very functional and an element that points to the craftsmanship, but it is also opulently decorated and designed, which in turn may detract from the desired simplicity.

The development of form of the totality of Burch's monstrances is, despite some high points, marked by a certain perplexity. His tendencies fluctuated between reduction to the essence of form and opulent decoration. In his constant search for the pure form of the monstrance, Burch was well aware of his insecurities. He was of the opinion that the monstrances would never be standardized. There were no clear lines of development or definable creative phases in their design, rather the entire production was characterized by indecision and uncertainty.

Fully sculptural work

In all of his work, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi strived for renewal and form-finding. This is also the case with fully plastic works. He was of the opinion that there was no further development of figural metal sculpture, but that many artists tried to use metal to imitate the effect of wood and stone sculptures. Accordingly, the specific expression of the metal was lost. Burch-Korrodi's concern was to take the material for what it is and not to make something alien from it. In the course of time, around the 1950s and 60s, he increasingly reflected on reducing the modeling of the material and the basic materials wire and sheet metal. The technology for the fully plastic work developed in the direction of assembly : the work of driving the sheet metal with the hammer was limited and individual parts processed and assembled with as few modular adaptations as possible. This working method resulted in a strong stylization of the figures and any naturalistic effect was excluded.

His first works from the 1930s were already stylized, but still characterized by driving work. The first larger than life silver sculpture was the 2.5 m high statue of Our Lady for the Catholic Church in Winterthur, created in 1933.

Life-size reliquary for the bones of Brother Klaus in the parish church of Sachseln, 1934

Another work of immense importance for Burch-Korrodi's career, and at the same time his main work, was the life-size gold-plated silver reliquary created in 1934 for the bones of Brother Klaus in the parish and pilgrimage church of Sachseln . The Burch-Korrodi workshop prevailed over the competitor Arnold Stockmann in the competition for a miniature model in the original material . He then created the glass coffin for the relic . The work on the sculpture was shaped by employee Heinrich Baumann, who did most of the work. The formation of Brother Klaus was based on studies based on the living model of a descendant of the hermit . During the execution, Burch-Korrodi had to defend himself more and more against the ideas and wishes of the client in order not to lose the clarity and stylization of the figure. In the end he succeeded and the workshop was able to realize a representation that was appropriate for the material.

As a direct consequence of the big Brother Klaus reliquary, Burch created a second, very little Brother Klaus relic in 1934. It is a very personal piece, because the figures of the hermit and the whole Burch family are grouped around a cylindrical container. It depicts Brother Klaus saying goodbye to his family.

The following work was already determined by new tendencies, namely to be technical assembly work. This included, for example, a figure of Christ over 4 m high, which is located in the chancel of the Evangelical Christ Church in Steinbühl (Nuremberg). This sculpture sparked a heated debate, as the reduction to the most essential and the radical stylization were viewed as mockery. For example, the folds of the garment were no longer sculpted, but only indicated by wires and narrow metal bands. The hair and beard were also made of natural pieces of wire that were soldered to the figure's head without hiding the traces of work. But Burch managed to convincingly represent the work and was finally able to execute it after having had the Christ head made on a scale of 1: 1 for viewing in his workshop. Together with the existing black marble altar, the white marble step area and the candle sticks created by Burch, the crucifix , the other altar items and the baptismal font , the sculpture created a convincing overall effect. The work was designed to work at a distance and could only really develop in the wide church space.

The homecoming of Tobias, Burch-Korrodi 1963, silver, embossed and mounted, location Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection

In a distinct way the kite in the wind is limited to its innermost essence. On behalf of the Zurich Sailing Club, Burch made an object that shows the manual limitation to the processing of cut sheet metal and wire. Wire and pieces of sheet metal were cut to size, bent accordingly and soldered together so that the assembly of individual elements leads to the whole.

Also worth mentioning is the group of figures of Tobias ' Homecoming , which Meinrad Burch-Korrodi created in 1963 for his own house in Zollikon. This work was inspired by the medieval depiction. Today the work is in the exhibition room of the Burch-Korrodi and Hedwig Maria Burch-Wyser Foundation, where the original hanging was reconstructed.

In addition, numerous secular and ecclesiastical medals, plaques and badges were created in the Burch-Korrodi workshop. These bas-reliefs required a strong simplification and reduction to the essentials, so that the goldsmith's area of ​​responsibility merged more and more with that of a graphic artist.

Jewellery

Chain of office with medallion for the rector of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, 1966. Medallion with the labyrinth and a surrounding inscription: PRIMA DI ESSERE INGEGNERI VOI SIETE UOMINI. FRANCESCO DE SANCTIS 1856.

Back of the medallion of the chain of office, with prism motif, gold.

When Meinrad Burch's studio began to produce its own jewelry, the work was still traditional. But soon his main concern was to distance himself from the usual so-called jewelery . With the basic elements of sheet metal and wire, he tried to create new shapes and pure, unadulterated shapes. The basic materials remained clearly visible as such for each piece of jewelry. Later, the interfaces were still visible even after they were soldered together to form the final shape, so that the creation process of the piece of jewelery could be traced. In the 1960s , geometric and abstract shapes dominated the designs and formed the starting point. His jewelry was never just the result of constructive effects, but of the strict form in synthesis with a playful basic conception.

In the Burch-Korrodi workshop, jewelry production was characterized by avant-garde elements. Former employee Martin Bucher reports that Burch was the first goldsmith to design and manufacture a square finger ring instead of the usual round one. He also reported on an innovative brooch in beech leaf shape with leaf ribs made of yellow gold wire, which was a novelty at the time. Just a few days later, such leaf-shaped brooches are said to have been found at other goldsmiths before they increasingly merged with the fashion taste of the 1960s.

Such avant-garde ideas also brought the workshop commissioned work for prominent customers. For example, the goldsmith was able to deliver various pieces of jewelry to Wilhelmina , Queen of the Netherlands. In addition, these innovations enabled him to become an integral part of the Zurich fashion scene. In 1942, Burch was able to present his latest creations together with the Basel fashion designer Fred Spillmann and the Maison Paul Daunay from Geneva in the Petit Palais of the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich.

The hard, no-nonsense metal shape of the jewelry should contrast the soft fabric of the dress. The synthesis of material, shape and color created a mutually enhanced effect. This explains Burch's approach, which is why the shape of the jewelry should not match the natural shape of the body, otherwise the contrast would be reduced.

meaning

Meinrad Burch-Korrodi's legacy is above all the consistent and uncompromising search for the clear, reduced basic form, which is expressed through the simplicity of the lines. However, this does not mean doing without decorative elements, on the contrary, decorations were an important part of the work. But they were limited to the essentials and most necessary, namely to the accentuation, so as not to dominate the form, but to remain subordinate to it. The renunciation in favor of the figure was probably the most important aspect in Burch-Korrodi's work.

Works such as the Brother Klaus reliquary for the parish and pilgrimage church in Sachseln in 1934 brought the goldsmith and his workshop notoriety and respect. Artistically, this silver sculpture can be considered his main work. But the innovative chalice creations, including the extraordinary vessel with the gilded Cuppa and the hollow foot of rock crystal attracted attention and caused an international breakthrough. The work of the Burch-Korrodi workshop was shown in numerous international exhibitions, for example in 1930 at the Third International Exhibition of Contemporary Art in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Burch also received important prizes, such as the Grand Prix at the Triennale in Milan in 1936, the ring of honor of the International Society for Goldsmithing for 1951, the highest international award for a goldsmith, and the Obwalden Culture Prize in 1977 .

Without a doubt, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi is considered a pioneer of modern church art. With regard to the design of the liturgical utensils, he questioned conventions and values ​​and looked tirelessly for the renewal of church art.

Burch's endeavors were not carried on with such uncompromisingness and with such consistency. Burch was of the opinion that his search for the essential form was only one station in the search for reduction and essence. However, there have been no major renovations in the area of ​​the liturgical devices and vessels since his death. However, this illustrates what influence Burch must have had on his contemporaries. The only ones to be mentioned are Adelheid Hanselmann-Erne , Alexander Schaffner and Jörg Domeisen , who strive for a certain objectification and simplification of church objects and tie in with Burch-Korrodi's work.

Meinrad Burch's artistic life's work is now scattered around the world and therefore cannot be fully recorded. The majority of his works are in use in churches or in private ownership and therefore not accessible to the public. Only a small part of the objects created has been captured photographically, often with no lettering.

Exhibitions

The listing of the following exhibitions of works and about Meinrad Burch's oeuvre may contain gaps.

1928/30/33			Exhibitions of the Swiss Werkbund.
1928/29			International Arts and Crafts Exhibition, New York.
1929			International exhibition for Christian art, Dresden.
1930			Third International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Metropolitan Museum, New York.
1930			German goldsmith exhibition, Leipzig
1930			International exhibition for Christian art, Munich.
1931			Exposition Nationale d'Arts, Geneva.
1933			Zurich Goldsmiths Week, Vienna.
1934			International Christian Art Exhibition, Rome.
1936			Triennial Milan (Grand Prix).
1937			Exposition Internationale des Arts Appliqués, Paris.
1938			Esposizione Svizzera d'Arte Sacra, Bellinzona.
1938			Exhibition New Zurich Crafts , Museum of Decorative Arts, Zurich.
1939			Swiss National Exhibition, Zurich.
1951			Award of the Ring of Honor of the International Society for Goldsmithing to Meinrad Burch.
1953			Swiss contemporary art, Baden-Baden.
1953			Exhibition during the third liturgical study meeting in Lugano. Meinrad Burch was invited by the Swiss St. Luke Society. The success of this exhibition led to the publication of the yearbook on gold and silver work from the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop.
1954			Exhibition of contemporary Christian art, Kunsthaus Zürich.
1954			International exhibition of modern Christian art, Vienna.
1955			Mostra Calice e Pianeta , Bologna.

literature

Text sources:

• Meinrad Burch-Korrodi: Sacral vessels. The chalice. Designs from the period 1925–66. Zurich 1973.
• Meinrad Burch-Korrodi: Sacral vessels. The ciborium - the ostensorium. Designs from the period 1925–66. Zurich 1973.
• L'œuvre de Burch-Korrodi. L'Art Sacré 1955, No. 9-10, pp. 16-24. Ed. du Cerf, Paris 1955.

Meinrad Burch-Korrodi's estate:

• In the Engelberg monastery archive
• In the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi and Hedwig Maria Burch-Wyser Foundation, Sarnen

Secondary literature:

• Graham Hughes: Modern Silver throughout the World. 1880-1967. Studio Vista, London 1967.
• Karl Iten: Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide. Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, Sarnen 1989.
• Karl Iten: A New Form - The Goldsmith Meinrad Burch-Korrodi 1897–1978 and his workshop . (Published on the artist's 100th birthday by the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi and Hedwig Maria Burch-Wyser Foundation). Gisler, Altdorf 1997. ISBN 3-9521208-1-2 (unmodified reprint 2007).
• H. Kronenberger: Modern goldsmith's trade in the service of the church. Visit to the goldsmith Burch-Korrodi, Zurich. In: Der Sonntag, No. 16 (April 22, 1962). Sonntag Verlag, Olten 1962.
• Ursula Peters: Historicism . In: Klaus Pechstein: German goldsmith's art from the 15th to the 20th century. Arenhövel, Berlin 1988.
• Dora Fanny Rittmeyer: History of the Lucerne Silver and Goldsmith's Art. Reuss, Lucerne 1941.
• Günter Schade : German goldsmithing. An overview of the art and cultural-historical development of gold and silversmiths from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century. Leipzig 1974.
• Swiss St. Luke Society (Ed.): Gold and silver work from the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop. In: Sacred Art. Vol. 1, NZN, Zurich 1954.
• Katja Andrea Wetzel-Haas: The Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop. Licentiate thesis, Zurich 1994.
• Jochem Wolters: The gold and silversmith. Materials and materials. Vol. 1, Stuttgart 1984.

Exhibition catalogs:

• Hugo Berger, Heiko Steuer (Ed.): Email. Art, craft, industry. Cologne City Museum, exhibition from June 2 to August 23, 1981. Kölnische Verlagsdruckerei GmbH, Cologne 1981.
• Meinrad Burch-Korrodi: Collection Meinrad Burch-Korrodi. Exhib. Cat. Abächerli, Sarnen 1973.
• Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation (Hrsg.): Obwalden - the landscape and its people in old representations. Works from the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi graphic collection, Sarnen Local History Museum, exhibition from July 31 to September 12, 1982. Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, Sarnen 1982.
• Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation (ed.): Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Sarnen Collection, exhibition on May 19, 1989. Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, Sarnen 1989.

Lexicons:

• Heinrich Suso Brecht a. a. (Ed.): Lexicon for theology and church. Second Vatican Council. Constitutions, decrees and declarations. Herder, Freiburg, Basel, Vienna 1966.
• Manfred Lurker (Ed.): Dictionary of Symbolism (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 464). 3. Edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-520-46403-9 .
• Hannelore Sachs, Ernst Badstübner, Helga Neumann: Explanatory dictionary on Christian art. Werner Dausien, Hanau 1985.
• Association for the publication of the Swiss Artists 'Lexicon: Artists' Lexicon of Switzerland. XX. Century. Vol. 1, Stuttgart 1983.

Web links

Commons : Meinrad Burch-Korrodi  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Website of the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Collection
• Roland Sigrist: Burch-Korrodi, Meinrad. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Publications by and about Meinrad Burch-Korrodi in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Brother Klaus depictions and emblems can be found on many of his goblets. In addition, numerous reliquaries for the Brother Klaus relics were made in his workshop .
2. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum Guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 21–23; Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Die Werkstatt Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, Licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 3.
3. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 23–24; Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Die Werkstatt Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, Licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 3.
4. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 25.
5. ↑ The Goldsmith's Ring of Honor has been awarded by the Society for Goldsmithing since 1933. Before Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, 18 rings of honor were awarded. see. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 29.
6. ^ Information from a conversation with the former employee of the workshop, Martin Häringer.
7. ^ Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Die Werkstatt Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. pp. 5-6.
8. ↑ cf. Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation (ed.), Obwalden - the landscape and its people in old depictions. Works from the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi graphic collection, Sarnen Local History Museum, exhibition from July 31 to September 12, 1982, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1982. p. 6.
9. ↑ cf. Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation (ed.), Obwalden - the landscape and its people in old depictions. Works from the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi graphic collection, Sarnen Local History Museum, exhibition from July 31 to September 12, 1982, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1982. p. 7.
10. ↑ cf. Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation (ed.), Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Sarnen Collection, exhibition on May 19, 1989, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 5.
11. ↑ See Association for the Publication of the Swiss Artists 'Lexicons (ed.), Artists' Lexicon of Switzerland XX. Century, Volume I, Frauenfeld: Stuttgart, 1983.
12. ↑ With regard to these views, the Englishman William Morris (1834-1896), who gave the craft a new basis with his apprenticeship, pioneered the way.
13. ↑ Further terms for Art Nouveau are art nouveau, modern style, modernism, style liberty, reform style or Vienna Secession. The term Art Nouveau is only used in German-speaking countries, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Latvia.
14. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 10.
15. ↑ ^{a b} cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 40.
16. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 41.
17. ↑ cf. Burch-Korrodi, Meinrad, Sacral Vessels. The chalice. Drafts from the period 1925–66, Zurich: 1973. Foreword.
18. ^ Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Die Werkstatt Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 22.
19. ↑ Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Die Werkstatt Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 35.
20. ↑ cf. Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi's workshop, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 12; 35.
21. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 52; Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Die Werkstatt Meinrad Burch-Korrodi, Licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. P. 36 ff.
22. ↑ ^{a b} cf. Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 36; 45-50.
23. ↑ cf. German Bishops' Conference (ed.), AEM. Working aid for the Eucharistic Mass, Bonn: 1985. P. 72; See chapter 4.2. to the church regulations after the second Vatican Council.
24. ↑ cf. Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 36; 52-56.
25. ↑ cf. Braun, Josef, The Christian altarpiece in its being and in its development, Munich: Max Hueber, 1932. P. 280
26. ↑ cf. Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 36; 45-57.
27. ↑ ^{a b} cf. Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 36; 45-58.
28. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 67–70.
29. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 71–72.
30. ↑ cf. Wetzel-Haas, Katja Andrea, Meinrad Burch-Korrodi workshop, licentiate thesis, Zurich: 1994. p. 36; 73-74; . Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 72–77.
31. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 81.
32. ↑ ^{a b} cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 93.
33. ↑ In 1967 Arnold Stockmann made stylistic changes to the glass coffin.
34. ↑ ^{a b} cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 93–98.
35. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 98–106.
36. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. pp. 109–113.
37. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 115.
38. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 124.
39. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 129.
40. ↑ cf. Iten, Karl, Burch-Korrodi Sarnen collection. Museum guide, Sarnen: Meinrad Burch-Korrodi Foundation, 1989. p. 122.
41. ^ Iten, Karl: Departure for a new form - The goldsmith Meinrad Burch-Korrodi 1897–1978 and his workshop . (Published on the artist's 100th birthday by the Meinrad Burch-Korrodi and Hedwig Maria Burch-Wyser Foundation). Altdorf; Gisler, 1997, p. 143.
42. ↑ Johannes Wagner, Catrin Menne-Thomé: Burch, Meinrad (cf. note 45), p. 9 .; In: Association for the publisher of the Swiss Artists 'Lexicon (publisher): Artists' Lexicon of Switzerland XX. Century , vol. 1.