Historian of the Past

History of the work

Standing on the Bundesplatz in front of the Parliament Building, you see a bronze statue in a niche to the left of the three entrance portals. It shows an old man reading and is titled 'Geschichtsschreiber der Vergangenheit' (Historian of the past). The Geneva sculptor Maurice Reymond de Broutelles made it in 1901; its counterpart, the 'Historian of the present', stands in the right-hand niche. According to the description of the decorative programme on Wikipedia, the old man holds out a history book to the parliamentarians as they enter, as a guide for their actions.

The Parliament Building was built from 1894 to 1902 under the architect Hans Wilhelm Auer and handed over on 1 April 1902. Its rich decoration was meant to make it a national monument, as the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland writes. Accounts differ on how many artists took part: the dictionary names 38, a brochure published by Parliament 33. According to Wikipedia, 16.2 per cent of the building costs of 7.2 million francs went on the artistic decoration.

Reymond was born in Geneva in April 1862, on the 25th according to SIKART, on the 26th according to Wikipedia. His teachers at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris were Henri Chapu and Félix-Joseph Barrias; afterwards he stayed in the city. After marrying Caroline de Broutelles in 1889, he added her name to his own. At the World Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900 he won a bronze and a silver medal. He is also known for his monument to Major Davel in Lausanne, unveiled in 1898. He died on 17 November 1936, in Paris according to SIKART, in Châtenay-Malabry according to the French Wikipedia.

Reymond also made the keystones above the entrances of the Federal Palace: three male heads for courage, wisdom and strength. Look for the wolf skin on the left-hand head and the ears of grain and oak leaves in the hair of the middle one.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Stadt Bern: Kunstwerke im öffentlichen Raum (opendata.swiss) · SIKART: Maurice Reymond de Brouteilles · Wikipedia (de): Maurice Reymond de Broutelles · Wikipedia (fr): Maurice Reymond de Broutelles · Musées lausannois: Reymond de Broutelles, Maurice J. · Wikipedia (de): Bundeshaus (Bern) · HLS: Bundeshaus · Parlamentsdienste: Broschüre Parlamentsgebäude (en) · Wikimedia Commons: Foto