Valentin Walter Mettler

Valentin Walter Mettler (born December 14, 1868 in Herisau ; † November 6, 1942 in Zurich ) was a Swiss sculptor .

Uli Rottach -relief

life and work

Walter Mettler was the third youngest child of the carpenter and Herisau councilor Jakob Mettler and Anna Barbara, née Ramsauer. He grew up with eleven siblings in Herisau.

In 1884 Mettler completed an apprenticeship as a sculptor with August Bösch in Zurich . He recognized his talent and in 1886 moved Mettler to continue his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich . He was a student of Max von Widnmann and was in contact with Max Buri , Cuno Amiet , Hans Beat Wieland , Wilhelm Balmer , Emil Dill and Felix Calonder, among others . During the holidays Mettler stayed with his family in Herisau and preferred to model his family members.

Town hall in Appenzell. Bronze relief. Uli Rotach fights the enemy in front of the burning hut

In 1887 he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, where he became friends with Karl Stauffer . In 1888 he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris and was a student of Henri Chapu , Pierre-Jules Cavelier and Louis-Ernest Barrias . Mettler met many artists of his time in Paris; so with Cuno Amiet, Max Leu , Giovanni Giacometti , Max Burri , Hugo Siegwart and James Vibert .

From 1892 to 1898 Mettler stayed exclusively in New York . After his return he stayed in Paris for two years. He then lived for a short time in Munich, where, in addition to his artistic work, he was a member of the Munich section of the GSMBA as a treasurer. Since Mettler was penniless, he lived in his studio.

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II , Mettler, like many of his Swiss artist friends, moved to Zurich. There he moved into a municipal studio near the Letten train station, at the corner of Rousseaustrasse and Spielweg. In the following years he took part in competitions for the Geisser fountain (1910), among others, and carried out private and various works in public and semi-public spaces.

In 1904, his design for the bronze relief " Uli Rotach fights against the enemy in front of the burning hut" on the facade of the town hall in Appenzell was accepted by the local monument commission and inaugurated on June 26, 1905. Mettler created the soldier monument in Oberdiessbach in 1920 and the Wehrman monument in Herisau in 1921.

1907, The Water Carrier , Helvetiaplatz Zurich

The fountain sculpture created by Mettler "The water carrier or Michmädchenbrunnen" on Helvetiaplatz in Zurich, which depicts a Wehntal farmer, was canceled in 1952. The sculpture is considered lost. In 1953, the Zurich Building Department had the sculpture “Monument of Work”, created by Karl Geiser , placed on the newly designed square .

1909, Fischerbrunnen on Mythenquai

Valentin Walter Mettler died lonely and penniless in Zurich. The Herisau architects Eva Keller and Peter Hubacher published a documentation about the life and work of Valentin Walter Mettler in 2015.

Works (selection)

• 1900: Bathers , sculpture. Art Museum Bern
• 1905: Uli Rotach fights the enemy in front of the burning hut , relief. Art Museum Bern
• 1906: Bathing girl , plastic
• 1907: The water carrier (dressed) or Michlmaidenbrunnen . Helvetiaplatz Zurich
• 1907: Hero , plastic. Federal Art Collection Bern
• 1907: The water carrier . Sculpture in different locations
• 1909: The bow tensioner, plastic. Federal Art Collection Bern
• 1909: Eva , sculpture. Kunsthaus Glarus
• 1909: Fischer , fountain sculpture. Mythenquai Zurich
• 1913: Bacchante with a young faun , plastic. Federal Art Collection Bern
• 1913: Bear with child , plastic. In front of the Herisau government building
• 1914: Masks for the theater in the Bernese Volkshaus
• 1915: Sculpture groups in the main post office in St. Gallen
• 1916: Children's dance , relief
• 1916: Building sculpture, Zurich District Attorney's Office
• 1917: Source , fountain sculpture. Kreuzplatz Zurich
• 1918: Mourning and Hope , two sculptures for the Herisau cemetery chapel (lost)
• 1919 : Märchenbrunnen (Frog King) , sculpture. In the Hahnberg Castle Garden, Arbon
• 1921: Adam and Eve , plastic. Federal Art Collection Bern.

literature

• Eva Keller, Peter Hubacher: Valentin Walter Mettler. 2015. ( Online PDF )

Web links

• Mettler, Valentin Walter. In: Sikart
• Franz Müller (SIK): Walter Mettler. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 3, 2008 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Registration book entry for Valentin Walter Mettler
2. ↑ Eva Keller, Peter Hubacher. Valentin Walter Mettler