Couple

History of the work

'Paar' (Couple) is a signed bronze that Gustave Piguet made in 1961 for a gravestone in the Schosshalde cemetery. The city's register of public art lists the work in grave section FAM 5 under number 0437. As the title says, the sculpture shows two figures; the available sources give no dimensions, foundry or client.

According to the Swiss artists' lexicon SIKART, Piguet was born in Interlaken on 19 February 1909 and died on 12 December 1976. His place of citizenship was Le Chenit in the Vaud Jura. SIKART describes him as a sculptor who worked mainly for buildings and public space. A short biography on the art portal AskArt says he trained in Bern as a wood and stone sculptor, then moved to Paris and took part in the 1937 World Exhibition there. The outbreak of the Second World War brought him back to Bern in 1939, where many commissions followed. AskArt lists the Kunsthalle, St Peter's church and the town hall among the places where his work can be seen.

The Schosshalde cemetery opened in 1877 as a replacement for the burial ground at the Rosengarten and has been extended several times since. With 16.8 hectares it is now the largest cemetery in the city. Paul Klee and his family are buried here, and a separate museum section displays gravestones from several periods.

On site, look for the signature, which according to the city's records is on the bronze. The same cemetery holds further sculptures by Bernese sculptors of the post-war decades, among them Marcel Perincioli's 'Grosser Engel' (Great Angel).

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Gustave Piguet · AskArt: Gustave Piguet, Biografie · Wikipedia (de): Schosshaldenfriedhof · Wikimedia Commons: Bronzeplastik Paar (Gustave Piguet 1961)