Simon Fuhrer
Simon Fuhrer (born January 17, 1913 in Bäraugrund near Langnau im Emmental (BE); † May 11, 1990 in Bedano (TI)) was a Swiss painter , draftsman and graphic artist .
Family and youth
Simon Fuhrer was the first of four children of the married couple Simon and Bertha Fuhrer-Fuhrer. He drew with passion from an early age. However, the very modest circumstances of his parents forced him to do an apprenticeship as a flat painter after completing his compulsory schooling. With the little pocket money he had, he bought himself study oil paints and canvas.
education
After completing his apprenticeship in 1933, Simon Fuhrer was able to study for one and a half semesters with Albrecht Mayer at the Basel School of Applied Arts thanks to a grant from the non-profit association Burgdorf . There wasn't enough money for more. In 1934-36 he attended evening classes at the Bern School of Applied Arts . In 1936 she was accepted into the Bern section of the Society of Swiss Painters, Sculptors and Architects (GSMBA). In 1939 he received a scholarship from the de Harries Foundation. In Bern (according to his own statement in 1955) there were two events that had a decisive influence on his artistic thinking: in 1936 the exhibition of German painting of the 19th century with Hans von Marées and Wilhelm Leibl in the Kunsthalle Bern and in 1939 the presentation of the Oskar Reinhart collection Paul Cézanne in the Kunstmuseum Bern. In 1947 and 1953 Simon Fuhrer won the Federal Art Scholarship. This enabled him to study trips to France and Italy. Simon Fuhrer's early work consists almost exclusively of landscapes, portraits, nudes and still lifes.
Marriage and teaching
On April 28, 1942, Simon Fuhrer married the teacher Gertrud Schneider, daughter of Walther and Anna Schneider, the first couple directing the Schwand agricultural school in Münsingen. The young couple moved to Melchnau (BE), where the woman started her first job. In 1944 and 1946 the two children Simon Andreas and Sabina Barbara were born. In 1948 the family took up residence on Meienriedweg in Biel, where Simon Fuhrer was able to set up a free-standing studio. In 1949 he was elected to the Bern School of Applied Arts, initially as a teacher of portrait and life drawing. 1950 and 1955 birth of the children Eva Katharina and Thomas Samuel. Contacts with painters and graphic artists in Biel and the surrounding area led to the founding of «Gruppe 50» in 1950. In October of the same year it showed an exhibition in what was then the Städtische Galerie Biel in the Neumarktpost building. In 1955, from September 3 to October 2, the “First Complete Exhibition of Simon Fuhrer” took place in the Biel City Gallery.
Move to Bedano (TI)
In 1976, shortly before the end of his now extensive drawing and design teaching activity at the Bern School of Applied Arts and the Bern Women's School, Simon Fuhrer and his wife moved into a large, old village house in Bedano, where he was able to set up a spacious studio under the roof. He became a member of the Sezione Ticino SPSAS (GSMBA). In Ticino he was finally able to devote himself entirely to his painterly and graphic work. In parallel to the ongoing exploration of still lifes, portraits and landscapes, he developed completely new, non-representational pictures and graphics in terms of style and content.
The last two years of his life were overshadowed by the illness to which he succumbed in May 1990.
Web links
- Fuhrer, Simon. In: Sikart
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fuhrer, Simon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss painter, draftsman and graphic artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 17, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bäragrund near Langnau in the Emmental , Canton of Bern |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 11, 1990 |
| Place of death | Bedano , Ticino |