Crouching female figure

History of the work

In the Bümpliz cemetery at Bottigenstrasse 40 stands a crouching female figure in bronze, made in 1975 by the Bernese sculptor Walter Schnegg. According to its description on Wikimedia Commons it is placed in the middle of section C3, a burial field for children who were born too early; the city's register of public art calls the spot the field for premature births. The available sources give no dimensions, foundry or client.

According to the Swiss artists' lexicon SIKART, Schnegg was born in Köniz on 7 November 1903 and died in Bern on 20 June 1990. SIKART describes him as a sculptor, modeller and painter who mainly made nudes, animals and fountain figures. Wikipedia says he first trained in a metalworking trade and then as a sculptor. This was followed by courses at the school of applied arts in Bern, a period as a trainee with a stonemason, and studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Geneva and at two academies in Paris. Study trips took him to Stuttgart, Munich and Italy.

Several of his works can be seen outdoors in Bern. The list of works on Wikipedia includes 'Mutter mit Säugling' (Mother with Infant, 1936) in the Spitalacker district, the Rehbrunnen (Deer Fountain) in Stapfenacker from 1946, the Schönau ornamental fountain on the Aare with a bronze fish and frog from 1950, and a floating female figure he made in 1971 for a grave in the Schosshalde cemetery. The figure in Bümpliz is the latest work in this selection.

The core of the cemetery is more than a hundred years old. Between 1987 and 1994 an extension to the west added three urn walls, a watercourse and new burial fields, and since 2003 the cemetery has had its own funeral hall (Wikipedia). The extension became necessary because the large housing estates such as the Tscharnergut had made the district's population rise sharply (City of Bern brochure). To find the figure, look for the centre of section C3.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Wikimedia Commons: Kategorie Bronzeplastik Kauernde Frauenfigur (Walter Schnegg 1975) · SIKART: Walter Schnegg · Wikipedia (de): Walter Schnegg · Wikipedia (de): Friedhof Bümpliz · Stadt Bern: Broschüre Friedhof Bümpliz (2018)