Large Angel

History of the work

The 'Grosser Engel' (Great Angel) is a bronze figure that Marcel Perincioli made in 1958 and 1959 for the Schosshalde cemetery. The Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA) lists it in its selection of works as a bronze from 1959 located at the Schosshalde cemetery; the photograph shown there was taken by the sculptor himself.

In the SIKART lexicon article, the author Johanna Strübin Rindisbacher counts the angel, together with the 'Javelin Thrower' at the Haus des Sports, among Perincioli's monumental works. The list of works on the Perincioli family website records a second 'Great Angel' in 1958, intended for the cemetery in Frutigen. Perincioli became known above all for runners, dancers and javelin throwers; he also made religious works again and again, such as the bronze doors of the Nydegg church in Bern (1953–1955) and a Pietà for the cemetery in Flawil (1954).

Perincioli was born in Bern on 14 June 1911. His father Etienne, a sculptor from Doccio in Piedmont, had worked in the city since 1908 and trained him himself from 1927 to 1930. He then studied in Paris with Charles Despiau and in Berlin with Wilhelm Otto, and in 1943–1944 he worked in Germaine Richier's studio in Zurich. The city of Bern gave him its art prize in 1947, 1948 and 1953. From 1961 to 1966 he was president of the Society of Swiss Painters and Sculptors (GSMBA).

Perincioli died in Bern on 10 September 2005 and is himself buried in the Schosshalde cemetery. His bronze 'Auferstehung' (Resurrection) of 1979 stands on his grave. Visiting both works, you see two pieces by the same sculptor made twenty years apart.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIK-ISEA, Werkeintrag: Marcel Perincioli, Grosser Engel, 1959 · SIKART: Marcel Perincioli (Johanna Strübin Rindisbacher) · HLS: Perincioli, Marcel (Matthias Oberli) · perincioli.ch: Verzeichnis grösserer Arbeiten von Marcel Perincioli · Wikipedia (de): Schosshaldenfriedhof · Wikipedia (de): Marcel Perincioli