Gazelle

History of the work

Walking down from the Lorraine Bridge to the Botanical Garden, you pass through a stone gate inscribed „Botanischer Garten“. On top lies an antelope of green-patinated bronze with long, twisted horns, its legs tucked under its body and its head raised. The City of Bern's inventory and the building inventory call it „Gazelle“ and date it to 1935; in the building inventory's entry on the Lorraine Bridge the same figure is called „Antilope“.

The garden itself is much older than the figure. It was laid out between 1860 and 1862 on a triangular, terraced site between the Aare, today's Altenbergrain and the embankment of the former railway bridge. The main building was designed by the cantonal architect Friedrich Salvisberg. According to the building inventory, several sculptures are integrated into the grounds; the gazelle on the gate is mentioned by name. The neighbouring Lorraine Bridge had opened in 1930.

Willy Vuilleumier was born on 11 September 1898 in Châtelaine near Geneva and died in Geneva on 8 November 1983. He studied chasing, engraving and sculpture at the Ecole des arts industriels in Geneva. In 1923 he went to Paris to the studio of Léon Leyritz and stayed until 1939. In 1925 he showed his first works at the Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs. According to the French-language Wikipedia he was especially interested in animals, and he also made busts and female figures. In 1949 he co-founded the cantonal art school in Valais with the painter Fred Fay and taught there for 23 years.

Vuilleumier exhibited in Bern as early as 1922, at the Galerie Wyss. Later he made animal sculptures for public places mainly in western Switzerland, such as a chamois, a marmot and an ibex in Valais, or swans in Geneva. The Bern sources spell his name inconsistently: the building inventory also lists him as Vuillemier and Wuillemier.

The best view of the figure is from the road in front of the gate: from there the twisted horns stand out against the sky.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Altenbergrain 21 (Botanischer Garten) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Lorrainebrücke · SIKART Lexikon: Willy Vuilleumier · Wikipedia (fr): Willy Vuilleumier · Wikimedia Commons: Foto des Werks (Ansicht)