Snake

History of the work

About fifty metres past the entrance of the Wyler open-air pool stands a drinking fountain whose stone is carved into a form titled 'Schlange' (Snake). Wikidata gives a height of about one metre and classes the work as abstract art. The water comes from the municipal supply network. The city dates the work to 1972–1976, while Commons and Wikidata give 1976.

The pool is hardly older than the fountain. According to a report by the city executive from 2020, the Wylerbad was built in 1971 on the former shooting grounds of the Wylerfeld; the shooting ranges had already been closed and demolished in 1935. After Weyermannshaus and Marzili it is the third-largest open-air pool in the city, and in important parts its layout matches the one at Weyermannshaus. In the same report the city executive asked for funds to plan a full renovation of the outdoor pools, since no major overhaul had taken place since construction.

Gustave Piguet was born in Interlaken on 19 February 1909 and died on 12 December 1976, in the very year given as the completion of the 'Schlange'. His place of citizenship was Le Chenit in the Vaud Jura. SIKART describes him briefly as a sculptor working on art for buildings and public space. According to the art platform AskArt he trained in Bern as a sculptor in wood and stone, then went to Paris and took part in the 1937 World Exhibition. When war broke out in 1939 he returned to Bern, where he received many public commissions; works by him can be found at the Kunsthalle, the town hall and St Peter's Church, among other places.

On Commons the fountain is photographed with the indoor pool in the background. Walking from the entrance across the grounds, you reach the stone after a few steps and can see how the form looks from every side.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Gustave Piguet · AskArt: Gustave Piguet · Stadt Bern, Vortrag des Gemeinderats: Sanierung Aussenbecken Freibad Wyler (2020) · Wikidata: Wylerbad-Brunnen / Schlange · Wikimedia Commons: Wylerbad-Brunnen (Schlange)