Fisherman and Family

History of the work

Opposite the Kunstmuseum, between the entrances at Hodlerstrasse 5 and 5a, a high relief in sandstone runs across the facade. It is called 'Fischer und Familie' (Fisherman and Family) and was made by Luigi Zanini in 1945. Wikidata gives a height of 2.8 metres and a width of 20 metres. The two entrances lead into the courtyard of the Haus der Kantone, whose address is Speichergasse 6.

In its short biography of Zanini, the artists' lexicon SIKART mentions a figure frieze on the PTT administration building in Bern in 1945. According to Wikipedia, the general directorate of the PTT was formerly housed at this site, alongside the Federal Patent Office. It seems likely that the frieze and the relief are the same work, but none of the sources links the two statements explicitly. The available sources do not name the client or the occasion.

The building has a history of its own: until 1907 it housed the Patent Office, where Albert Einstein worked as a technical expert from 1902 to 1907; in 1905 he published the special theory of relativity. Since 18 August 2008 the building has been called the Haus der Kantone (House of the Cantons). The secretariats of several intercantonal conferences of governments and ministers work there.

Zanini was born in Zurich on 6 June 1896 and grew up there. SIKART describes him as an Italian sculptor and painter, Wikipedia as a Swiss-Italian artist. He worked for buildings and public space, also painted frescoes and taught drawing. From 1924 to 1963 he had his studio in Zurich; afterwards he lived in Turin, where he died on 7 June 1968. To take in the relief, step across to the Kunstmuseum side of the street: only from a little distance can you see its full length.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Luigi Zanini · Wikipedia (de): Luigi Zanini · Wikidata: Fischer und Familie (Q63763772) · Wikipedia (de): Haus der Kantone · Wikimedia Commons: Sandsteinhochrelief Fischer und Familie (Luigi Zanini 1945)