Group of Boys

History of the work

On a broad, low stone base stand two naked young men in bronze, while a third sits on the ground at their feet, propping himself up on one arm. One of the standing figures stretches his arm towards the seated one; the other rests his hand on his companion's shoulder. The group has a counterpart: Geiser's „Mädchengruppe“ (Group of Girls) stands in the same schoolyard. According to the German-language Wikipedia, it does not show three girls but two girls and a boy.

The school building was built between 1923 and 1926 to designs by the firm Widmer & Daxelhoffer; the city's grammar school moved in in 1926. In the same year the Bern-born sculptor won the competition for two sculptures in front of the new building. The work dragged on for twelve years and, as Wikipedia and SIKART both describe, was an ordeal for Geiser. The girls' group, cast in 1937, was first shown in front of the Swiss pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris. On 8 April 1938 both groups were unveiled in Bern. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland notes that by then Geiser could no longer identify with them.

Karl Geiser was born in Bern in 1898; the Historical Dictionary gives 22 November, SIKART 22 December. After his school-leaving exam in 1917 he taught himself, took his own studio in 1918 and moved to Zurich at the end of 1922. Heads and figures of boys were his main early subject. Later he received major public commissions, such as a figure of David in Solothurn and a Monument to Labour in Zurich, but he was unable to complete any of them. On 5 April 1957 he was found dead in his studio.

Since 2015 the groups have also been publicly debated: after a youth figure by Geiser was secretly removed from a school in Schaffhausen and put back after protests, the Bern boys' and girls' groups were drawn into the discussion as well, according to Wikipedia.

The building itself deserves a second look: the assembly hall is decorated with murals by Cuno Amiet from 1927 and 1928, and the building inventory lists the outdoor space as being of heritage interest.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Wikipedia (de): Karl Geiser · SIKART Lexikon: Karl Geiser · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Karl Geiser · Wikipedia (de): Gymnasium Kirchenfeld · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Kirchenfeldstrasse 25 (Gymnasium Kirchenfeld) · Wikimedia Commons: Foto des Werks (Ansicht)