Charles Wyrsch facts for kids
Charles Wyrsch (born July 5, 1920 – died June 16, 2019) was a talented Swiss artist and painter. He is known for his unique style that changed over his long career.
Contents
Early Life
Charles Wyrsch was born in July 1920 in a town called Buochs in Nidwalden, Switzerland. His mother passed away shortly after he was born. Charles grew up with his grandparents, Carl I and Maria, in Buochs. From 1935 to 1938, he learned how to paint by training with his father, who was also a painter.
Charles was inspired by his great-grand uncle, Johann Melchior Wyrsch, who was also an artist. Charles dreamed of studying art at the best schools in Switzerland and France.
Art Studies and Travels
Charles Wyrsch began his formal art education in 1939. He attended the School of Applied Arts in Lucerne until 1943.
After that, he went to the "Ecole des Beaux-Arts" in Geneva for more advanced studies. He was very good at art, and he won the Prize of the City of Geneva. This award was a big deal! It gave him a studio to work in for a year, some money, and a trip to Paris with other art students.
When he returned to Switzerland, Charles took private lessons with an artist named Albert Pfister. From Pfister, he learned about two important art styles: the Fauves and the Expressionists. These styles used bright colors and strong emotions.
Later, he studied at another art school in Basel. There, he worked with Ernst Buchner and sculptor Walter Bodmer, focusing on shapes and forms in art. In 1949, he spent some time living and working in Paris, a famous city for artists.
Personal Life and Artistic Changes
In 1953, Charles Wyrsch married Edith Hug. They settled in Lachen in the Schwyz region. This was a time when he started getting important art projects and becoming more successful.
The town of Buochs asked him to paint a large picture, called a fresco, for their new school building. In the 1950s, Wyrsch also started painting a series of works called "the barons." These paintings featured figures with long faces and hats. They reminded people of the artists Modigliani and Utrillo, whose work Charles had seen in Paris.
Towards the end of the 1950s, Charles Wyrsch's art style began to change. He passed away in June 2019 at the age of 98.
Moving to Lucerne
In 1961, Charles and his family moved to Lucerne. At this time, he felt that traditional, realistic painting was holding him back. He even destroyed some of his old works and started painting new ones with a palette knife, using lots of bold colors. This was a big step towards abstraction, where art doesn't try to show things exactly as they look. This new way of thinking about art influenced his later paintings.
During this period, he also created abstract images of Christ. A very sad event, the death of his three-year-old daughter, deeply affected him. This sorrow led him to paint his most famous work, the "Stations of the Cross," in 1966, for the Pius Church in Meggen.
Moving to Kriens
In 1971, Charles and his family moved to Kriens. He bought an art studio there. In the 1970s, he was inspired by the artist Bacon, who had a new way of showing people in art. This made Wyrsch want to return to painting people and figures.
He explained that Bacon's art made him want to go back to showing people in his paintings. Before this, he had been creating color spaces, influenced by another artist named Mark Rothko. Charles Wyrsch worked hard to find new ways to show people in his art that felt right for his time. For him, art was a way to express important ideas.
Works and Style
Artistic Style
Charles Wyrsch's art journey started with expressive paintings that showed figures. Then, for about ten years, he moved towards abstraction, where he focused on colors and shapes rather than realistic images. But eventually, he returned to figurative art, which means art that shows recognizable people or objects.
Wyrsch often chose traditional subjects for his paintings. He studied the works of famous artists like Velásquez and El Greco. He was also inspired by artists of his own time. However, his paintings always remained unique. They don't fit neatly into any single art style. He saw himself as a modern artist, open to new ideas and ways of painting.
Awards
Charles Wyrsch received several awards for his artistic achievements:
- Krienser Kulturpreis 1995
- Kunst- und Kulturpreis der Stadt Luzern, 1980
- Johann-Melchior-Wyrsch-Preis 1977
- Anerkennungspreis der Stadt Luzern, 1965
- Eidgenössisches Kunststipendium, 1960
- Eidgenössisches Kunststipendium, 1956
- Eidgenössisches Kunststipendium, 1953
Books About His Work
Several books have been published about Charles Wyrsch's art:
- Edith by Charles Wyrsch, Edition Periferia, 2002
- Charles Wyrsch: Werke 1942–1990 by Markus Britschgi, Edition P. von Matt, 1990
- Charles Wyrsch Peinture by Hilar Stadler, Jean-Christophe Amman, 2010
