Otto Bachmann (artist)

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Karl Otto Bachmann (born March 25, 1915 in Lucerne ; † February 18, 1996 in Ascona ) was a Swiss painter, graphic artist and illustrator.

Life

The paternal family had lived in Buchholterberg BE for generations. The mother was a native Walser.

Otto Bachmann spent his youth in Lucerne, where he also attended schools. He then completed an apprenticeship in graphic design and found a prudent mentor at the Lucerne School of Applied Arts in Max von Moos (1903–1979) who recognized and promoted his talent at an early stage. After completing his apprenticeship, he moved to Zurich, where he found a job at the Althaus advertising agency. But the office with its regular working hours and secure income did not appeal to him much; he lacked independence and artistic freedom. He gave up his job and worked as a freelance painter. Hard years of struggle for artistic identity followed, but also for public recognition and bare survival.

The big breakthrough came in 1943 with the first pocket folder. It contained twelve 35 × 45 cm panels on Goethe's "Faust" and was published in an edition of 450 by Morgartenverlag Conzett & Huber Zurich. The preface by Albert J. Welti (1894–1965) is an inspired interpretation of the drawings and a gentle homage by the older narrator and painter to his young colleague. It closes with the words: “With the present sheets, Bachmann has provided proof that he knows how to read his way into a poem like rarely anyone. The fact that he becomes a creator through reading is not only beneficial to himself, but also to those around him. We therefore have reason to be grateful together with him for the kind exercise of a high grace. "

Otto Bachmann traveled often. As a young man he wrote to his older sister: “I would like to just travel and paint.” At a young age he was wandering all over Europe. In order to earn some cash, he often joined traveling circuses. Here he also found motifs and suggestions for his harlequins, colombines, jugglers and the circus world, which fired his imagination into old age. He read a lot, was an excellent chess player and also a sociable person. Under the vulgo "Vintoretto" he was a member of the Ticino section of the "Schlaraffia" in Locarno. In 1944 he moved to Ascona, where he also died. On August 27, 1965, he married Angelika Gesemann in Zurich. In 1995 Bachmann received the “Premio Cultura” from the Ascona community. At that time he was already sick. He suffered from leukemia and died on Sunday. February 18, 1996, almost 81 years old. He was buried in the Ascona cemetery.

plant

Bachmann's favorite painters were Raffael (1483–1520) and Ingres (1780–1867). He held in high regard and admired Hieronymus Bosch (1450–1516) and Francisco Goya (1746–1828). The aim and ideal of his work were: to unite content, color and form in perfection. His handwriting was unmistakable. He did not belong to any painting school or artist group. He usually did not paint landscapes, still lifes, or portraits. The background of his pictures were often imaginary, virtual locations. His theme world was the stage, the carnival and the circus world. Whether figurative compositions or individuals, he often drew from the profound mythological or religious world. In 1940 he painted “the rest on the run”, later “the temptation of St. Antonius ”,“ Apollo and Marsyas ”“ Battle of the Amazons ”, all subjects which enlivened his rich imagination. The elegant lines as well as the delicate coloring and the harmony of the colors made him a valued book illustrator. In 1942 he illustrated "Real things and wonderful things, stories about Andersen" by E. von Schulthess, in 1943 Ernst Mummenthaler's "Mainly cheerful, consoling, inconsolable". Noteworthy are the bibliophile editions such as the second hand folder, “a dance of death” with Hans Roelli, “Faithful love” by Clemens Brentano, “Love stories from 1001 nights” (1955), Arthur Schnitzler's “Reigen”, or “Die Locke der Berenike” by Catullus . Bachmann participated in countless exhibitions at home and abroad throughout his life. The graphic collection of the ETH Zurich showed his drawings as early as 1943. In 1950 he exhibited at Carreiro in Paris. Others followed in Düsseldorf, Munich, New York, Hammer-Galerie, Boston, Chicago, Miami and other art centers. Publicly accessible locations of his works are the Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne and the entrance hall of the Publicitas building on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich. Bachmann was a diligent worker who sat at the easel every day.

Works in public space and collections

  • Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne
  • Entrance hall of the Publicitas building on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich
  • Museum of European Art , North Rhine-Westphalia in Nörvenich Castle , Federal Republic of Germany

Monographs on Otto Bachmann

  • Das Werk, no.37, 1950, page 45
  • Bruckmann's Handbook of Modern Printmaking, K. Bachler / H. Dünnebier M. 1973
  • Otto Bachmann, relais verlag bremen - Berlin, texts by Will Berthold, Willi Oggenlhss, Konrad Jule Hammer, 1974 Otto Bachmann Ascona / Switzerland
  • Otto Bachmann, Ingrid Raver, design by Karl Zehnder, published in 1977 by Verlag Stägenbuck-Galerie, CH 8600 Dübendorf
  • Peter P. Riesterer: Otto Bachmann. Pictures and drawings, 1985 by ABC Verlag Zurich (Switzerland), ISBN 3-85504-092-3
  • Ingrid Zehnder-Rawer, Otto Bachmann. Drawings. Design: Karl Zehnder, 1989 by INKA Handels AG, St. Margrethen
  • Otto Bachmann (1992): Dreams from the Orient. In: Markus Baudenbacher (ed.). Ascona, ISBN 3-9520030-2-6

literature

  • Theresia Riedmaier / Joe F. Bodenstein: Wiener Schule und Wein, 2001, (Ed. Theo Kautzmann, Verein Südliche Weinstrasse eV / Landau (Rhineland-Palatinate). (With illustrations, by Ernst Fuchs, Arik Brauer, Rudolf Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter, Wolfgang Rabl, Otto Bachmann, Leonor Fini, Paris / Vienna and others) collection, Museum of European Art, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Individual evidence


Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bachmann, Otto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bachmann, Karl Otto (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss painter, graphic artist and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Lucerne
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1996
Place of death Ascona