Constant Könz (born 10 February 1929) is a Swiss painter,

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, and

sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...

artist. He is known for decorating houses in

all over Graubünden.

Biography

Könz was born in the village

Zuoz Zuoz () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. History Zuoz is first mentioned about 840 as ''Zuzes''. Historically, Zuoz was the political ce ...

in 1929. He is the son of the architect and author Iachen Ulrich Könz and Dora Geer. His father remarried with the author Selina Chönz in 1939 and the family moved to Guarda. His half brother was the artist . Könz grew up in Zuoz and Guarda. Guarda 47

After secondary education in the Cantonal School of Graubünden (1943–1947) Könz studied architecture in Zurich (1947–1952). He then studied at École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Geneva (1952–1956) to become an art teacher. After a visit to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1957 Könz returned to Switzerland and worked as a teacher 1958–1961 at the Evangelische Mittelschule Schiers in

Schiers Schiers () is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the political district Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. The first concrete girder bridge ever built, Salginatobel Bridge, is located in Schiers. Designed ...

. Following a car accident he realized the importance of art to him and became a freelance artist.

Work

Könz's sgraffito work can be found all over Graubünden. For instance, groups of houses in the villages Bever,

Pontresina Pontresina () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sa ...

La Punt Chamues-ch La Punt Chamues-ch (; ) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History La Punt Chamues-ch is first mentioned around 1137-39 as ''Campolovasto''. In 1244 it was mentioned as ''Ponte''. Geography La Punt Ch ...

, and

Ftan Ftan is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol.Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...

, Münstertal, and . Könz's murals and paintings can also be seen in public buildings such as schools, courthouses, and banks. Traditional motives are most common in Könz's murals and paintings, but some works feature religious motives. An example of the latter is the three stained glass windows in the church San Luzi in Zuoz. They are called ''La Cretta'' (1987), ''Lebensbaum und lebendiges Feuer'' (2009), and ''Sabbatruhe'' (2010). Könz is a member of the Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Maler und Bildhauer und Architekten (GSMBA), present name VISARTE, since 1975. File:Zuoz reformierte Kirche Chorfenster 1.jpg, San Luzi church in Zuoz. The rightmost window is ''La Cretta'' (1987) by Könz. File:Chur in Graubünden (Zwitserland) 41.jpg, Könz has worked on restorations of the facade of the Zschaler house (Obere Gasse 31) in Chur. File:Sur En Haus.JPG, Könz has worked on restorations of the facade of the Tulpenhaus (tulip house) in Sur En.

Personal life

In 1958 Könz married Sibylle Burckhardt of the

Burckhardt family The Burckhardt family alternatively also (de) Bourcard (in French language, French) is a family of the Basel Patrician (post-Roman Europe), patriciate, descended from Christoph (Stoffel) Burckhardt (1490–1578), a merchant in cloth and silk origi ...

. They have two children.

Awards

*1988 Anerkennungspreis des Kantons Graubünden (Recognition award of the Canton of Graubünden) *2012 Premi cultural Paradies (Paradies Culture Prize), awarded by Paradies hotel in Ftan *2014 Kulturpreis Oberengadin (Culture Prize of Oberengadin)

References

External links

Exhibition at Stallamadulain galleryInterview
in

Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen ("Swiss Radio and Television"), shortened to SRF, is a subsidiary of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), operating in German-speaking Switzerland. SRF was created on 1 January 2011 through the merger of r ...