Victor Surbek

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Victor Surbek (born November 1, 1885 in Gäziwil ; † March 26, 1975 in Bern ) was a Swiss painter , watercolorist , draftsman , graphic artist and illustrator . He was the husband of the painter Marguerite Frey-Surbek .

Life

Victor Surbek was born as the son of Victor Surbek, who was chief physician at Inselspital from 1890 to 1920 . In 1893 he moved to Bern and attended the literary high school there. At the trade school he learned nude drawing and landscape painting. In 1904 he finished school with the Matura . He first came into contact with Ferdinand Hodler's painting through Ernst Linck and then decided to become a painter himself. From 1904 to 1906 he attended the arts and crafts school in Munich , followed by further training, including the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe (1907–1909) and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris (1909–1911). There he met his future wife.

In 1914 Victor Surbek married the painter Marguerite Frey , with whom he ran his own painting school in Bern from 1915 to 1931. Surbek was temporarily president of the GSMBA (Society of Swiss Painters, Sculptors and Architects), Section Bern. In 1918, in this role, he supported the founding of the Kunsthalle Bern . From 1919 he had a studio in his parents' country house in Iseltwald on Lake Brienz , where he often spent the summer. He made numerous trips through Europe, America and Africa.

Surbek was friends with René Gardi and accompanied him to Cameroon for three weeks . There he created numerous watercolors, oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, lithographs and etchings. In 1930 he invited Max Böhlen to travel with him to Corsica for two months .

Victor Surbek created the mural The Four Seasons for the drinking fountain hall of the spa fountain in Rheinfelden in 1933
Spa fountain in Rheinfelden

Victor Surbek's first participation in an internationally important exhibition was his participation in the Venice Biennale in 1920. The Federal Art Commission held a pre-exhibition in 1920 in the Bern art gallery . 38 Swiss artists were represented there with 172 works. Giovanni Giacometti had the task of selecting the works for Venice, including a picture by Victor Surbek. Ferdinand Hodler, who died two years earlier, had his own hall of honor at the exhibition in Venice . Also in 1926, 1936 and 1938 Surbek was able to take part in the most important art exhibition in the world in Venice.

Victor Surbek created the mural The Four Seasons for the drinking fountain hall of the spa fountain in Rheinfelden in 1933

Victor Surbek painted two monumental paintings for the Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich in 1939 : The first, entitled Holzhauer im Winterwald, was on view in the entrance hall of the exhibition Our Wood . Together with his wife, as well as with Martin Christ and Herold Howald, he designed a 200-meter-wide mural entitled Swiss Landscapes for the Road Traffic Hall. This was the only work that the Surbek couple produced together. After that, Surbek and Hans Erni , who had also made a monumental picture, were known throughout Switzerland. The Surbek couple usually only painted together in Iseltwald in spring ; the Surbeks spent the rest of the year in different studios in Bern's old town. The Surbeks never wanted to exhibit together; that was also the wish of the couple after their death.

In 1958 Surbek was at the IX with two pictures. Swiss exhibition of alpine art of the GSMBA represented in St. Gallen. The jury selected his ink drawing Vom Pilatus as the cover picture for the exhibition catalog. In the last years of his life, Surbek maintained close and friendly contact with Bendicht Friedli . Victor Surbek died in Bern in 1975.

plant

Victor Surbek liked to paint mountain landscapes and Bern cityscapes in oil. The painterly work with its rather restrained colors and clear lines is influenced by the drawing and the printmaking. Winter landscape in the canton of Bern (1940) is a typical picture. Numerous drawings and lithographs determined his work. Portraits and figure compositions were also part of the repertoire, for example the oil painting Girl Sitting at the Table from 1918 or the motif Sabine and Peter . The latter is in the Hans & Marlis Suter art collection .

Surbek is also known for his large-format school murals, which were published by the Swiss Teachers' Association in Ingold-Verlag. They served to illustrate geological phenomena in the Alps. In 1930 he was commissioned to redesign the west facade of Bern's Zytgloggeturm with the dial. In 1932 he painted the Round Table , which represented a circle of artists and those interested in art. The group met every Thursday at Café Harmonie in Bern. With this, Surbek created a document that shows, alongside himself, the painters Herold Howald, Paul Zehnder, Max Böhlen, the art historian Wilhelm Stein and the sculptor Max Fueter .

The 100-franc banknote designed by Surbek (front)

In 1938 Victor Surbek designed parts of the 4th banknote series together with Hans Erni , whereby Surbek designed the 100-franc note. This series is a never issued reserve series. It was withdrawn, among other things, because a Lucerne parliamentarian objected that "of all people, a communist like Erni" should receive this assignment. Erni was unjustly denigrated as a communist.

In Marianne Mühlemann's article in the newspaper Der Bund , the biographer Markus Schneider claimed that the art of the Surbeks "had little style and was not very innovative in the long term". They were pretty "stubborn" and stuck to their tried and tested painting style. This may be the case for some lithographs or paintings, especially in the late work. Victor Surbek was nevertheless represented in many important exhibitions and museums. For example, he was allowed to take part in the Venice Biennale four times . Surbek's contribution to Swiss art can be seen above all in its educational work.

student

From 1915 to 1931, Surbek taught at his painting school in Bern, among others, Serge Brignoni , Max Böhlen , Ernst Braker, Roman Tschabold and Helene Pflugshaupt . From the 1960s onwards, there was a friendly relationship with Bendicht Friedli , who learned many crucial basics as a painter from the painter couple.

Exhibitions (selection)

Works in public space (selection)

  • Odyssey and Homecoming of Odysseus (1928), five murals in the Kirchenfeld high school in Bern, middle wing, third floor
  • Beginning of time (1930), Zytglogge tower west facade, Bern
  • The four seasons (1934), mural for the pump room of the spa fountain in Rheinfelden
  • Wood cutter in the winter forest and Swiss landscapes , Swiss National Exhibition 1939 , Zurich
  • The four seasons (1951), mural in the assembly room of the Tiefenauspital , Bern

Works in collections (selection)

literature

Web links

Commons : Victor Surbek  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The name was given by Viktor Surbek (1885–1975). Anne-Marie Dubler, Rune Aaslid, March 9, 2007, accessed August 30, 2019 (Notes about Surbek on Anne-Marie Dubler's website ).
  2. ^ Swiss art: Surbek in Cameroon. Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Max Huggler : Max Bohlen. Huber, Frauenfeld 1973, ISBN 3-7193-0466-3 (with list of works), p. 124 f.
  4. ^ Caesar Menz: Switzerland's participation in the Venice and Sao Paulo biennials , in: Journal for Swiss Archeology and Art History, Issue 4, 43/1986
  5. ^ Fricktaler Museum: Wall painting in the pump room, 1933. Accessed on October 16, 2019 .
  6. ^ Schweizerische Bauzeitung, 1934: Kurbrunnenanlage in Rheinfelden. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Photos with excerpts from www.mural.ch: [1]
  8. ↑ Photos with excerpts from www.mural.ch: [2]
  9. ↑ Markus Schneider: The Surbeks . Verlag Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich 2014 ISBN 978-3-85881-441-8
  10. ↑ Zurich / White King, Exhibition Issue to issue the GSMBA in St. Gallen from 17 May to 15 June 1958
  11. ↑ Victor Surbek: Winter landscape in the canton of Bern , available in Sikart at [3]
  12. ↑ Victor Surbek: Girl sitting at the table , available in Sikart at [4]
  13. ↑ Victor Surbek: Sabine and Peter available in the gallery of the art collection on [5]
  14. ↑ dials at the Zytgloggeturm in Bern, available at: [6]
  15. ↑ A brief history of Swiss banknotes, available at: [7]
  16. ↑ Marianne Mühlemann: fallen out of time , Der Bund Online, accessed 7/2017 at: [8]
  17. ↑ Biffiger, Steffan: Roman Tschabold, 1900-1990: Leben und Werk , Benteli Verlag Wabern / Bern 2000, ISBN 978-3716512357 and website www.romantschabold.ch
  18. ↑ Reference to Helene Pflugshaupt see: Peter Killer, Hans Suter: Helene Pflugshaupt , p. 32, Stämpfli 1994.
  19. ↑ Peter Killer: Bendicht Friedli, draftsman and painter , Stämpfli 2000.
  20. ↑ References to: [9]
  21. ^ Exhibition catalog of the Kunsthaus Zürich: 11 Bern artists , from April 27, 1940 to June 2, 1940
  22. ↑ Zurich / White King, Exhibition Issue to issue the GSMBA in St. Gallen from 17 May to 15 June 1958
  23. ↑ Information on the exhibition available at: [10]
  24. ↑ Figures on: [11]
  25. ↑ Viktor Surbek: Conjuration of Teiresias. Retrieved December 6, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Viktor Surbek: Homecoming of Odysseus. Retrieved December 6, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Viktor Surbek: Sea trip. Retrieved December 6, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Max Huggler: Mural, Tiefenauspital. Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Inventory list of the Schaffhausen City Archives , accessed on September 3, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Surbek, Victor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss painter
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Zziwil
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1975
Place of death Bern