Alphons Magg
Alphons Magg | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 July 1891 Zürich, Switzerland |
| Died | 8 December 1967 (aged 76) Zollikon, Switzerland |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Alphons Magg (14 July 1891 – 8 December 1967) was a Swiss sculptor whose work centred on religious commissions, funerary and commemorative monuments, and portrait busts. From 1925, he made sculptures for Catholic churches in German-speaking Switzerland.
Biography
[edit]Alphons Magg was born in Zürich on 14 July 1891.[1] He attended secondary school at Mehrerau, a Cistercian school near Bregenz.[2] From 1907 to 1909, he pursued commercial training in Zürich, while also attending courses in the graphic department of the Kunstgewerbeschule.[1]
On the advice of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt, he moved to Munich in 1910, where he received private training before working independently as a sculptor.[2] His Munich training reflected the principles of Adolf von Hildebrand, whom Magg later met in 1919.[2] He remained in Munich until 1917 and travelled widely in Europe for study during these years.[1]
Magg married the American pianist Mary Avery around 1916, and the couple had a son.[1][2] In 1917, he returned to Zürich because of the war.[2] There, he studied French sculpture, particularly the work of Aristide Maillol.[1][2] He died in Zollikon on 8 December 1967.[1]
Work
[edit]Magg’s sculptural work centred on religious commissions, funerary and commemorative monuments, and portrait busts.[2] He also produced nude figures and reliefs.[2] His portrait busts included works depicting Auguste Forel, Pope Pius XII and Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein.[1]
From 1925, he made numerous sculptures for Catholic churches in German-speaking Switzerland.[2] Between 1931 and 1936, he restored and partly redesigned the sculptural decoration on the east façade of St. Gallen Cathedral.[2][3] The project led to further commissions at Einsiedeln Abbey and Wettingen Abbey.[2] In 1939, he created the monumental group Rossbändiger for the Swiss National Exhibition in Zürich.[1][2]
Magg’s religious sculpture reworked traditional Christian subjects in forms that were modern but restrained.[2] His work remained rooted in a conservative artistic outlook associated with Adolf von Hildebrand and favoured classical restraint over avant-garde experiment.[2]
Magg’s Female skater was entered in the sculpture competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Oberli, Matthias (13 August 2008). "Alfons Magg". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) (in German). Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Paucic, Sandi (2017). "Alfons Magg". SIKART Lexikon zur Kunst in der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Alphons Magg". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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