Anchor Cross with Crown of Thorns

History of the work

In the planted inner courtyard of the mortuary hall next to the crematorium of the Bremgarten cemetery, a cross of red lava combined with a bronze sculpture stands by the water basin. The title names both parts: 'Ankerkreuz mit Dornenkrone' (Anchor Cross with Crown of Thorns). Marcel Perincioli made the work in 1964; in the list of his major works published on the website about the Perincioli sculptors, it appears as 'Ankerkreuz in roter Lava' (anchor cross in red lava) for the Bremgarten cemetery.

Courtyard and sculpture were created almost at the same time. In 1963/64 the architects' partnership of Rolf Halter and Daniel Reist built new mortuary rooms and an urn hall as an extension of the crematorium for the Bernese Cremation Cooperative; a further wing followed from 1975 to 1977. According to the building inventory, the buildings are arranged on three sides around a central courtyard with a fountain, in which a stone sculpture draws the eye. The mortuary rooms lie on the sunken lower floor along a corridor glazed towards the courtyard; the flat roof above serves as an urn terrace.

The cemetery itself opened on 29 December 1864 and, at about 16 hectares, is the second largest in the city. The crematorium was built in 1907/08 by the cremation society founded back in 1887. According to reports cited by Wikipedia, a restaurant is to open in the old crematorium building.

Perincioli was born in Bern on 14 June 1911, the son of the Piedmont-born sculptor Etienne Perincioli, and died in Bern on 10 September 2005. After an apprenticeship with his father (1927–1930) he continued his training in Paris with Charles Despiau and in Berlin with Wilhelm Otto, and in 1943/44 he worked with Germaine Richier in Zurich. He became known for runners, javelin throwers and dancers in stone and bronze. He also made church works, such as the bronze doors of the Nydegg church (1953–1955) and a large angel for the Schosshalde cemetery; according to SIKART he also won international awards for religious art. From 1961 to 1966 he was central president of the Society of Swiss Painters and Sculptors.

At the water basin it is worth looking closely at how the work's two materials, the red lava stone and the bronze, are joined together.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Marcel Perincioli (Johanna Strübin Rindisbacher) · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Perincioli, Marcel (Matthias Oberli) · Bildhauer Perincioli: Verzeichnis grösserer Arbeiten (Marcel Perincioli) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Weyermannsstrasse 1A (Aufbahrungshalle Bremgartenfriedhof) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Weyermannsstrasse 1 (Krematorium) · Wikipedia (de): Bremgartenfriedhof · Wikimedia Commons: Lavaskulptur mit Bronzeplastik Ankerkreuz mit Dornenkrone (Marcel Perincioli 1964)