Lisa Wenger (born Lisa Ruutz :23 January 1858 – 17 October 1941) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and author of children's books. During the 1930s she was one of the best known and most widely read authors in the country.

Life

Lisa Ruutz was born in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. Heinrich Ruutz, her father, owned a fabrics and textiles shop in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

. She undertook artistic training successively in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, finishing off at the Fine Arts Academy in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

. Her teachers in Basel, included Hans Sandreuter. In 1881 Lisa Ruutz opened a porcelain painting workshop, targeted on women and young ladies in Basel. In 1890 she married Théo Wenger, the owner of a "steel goods" factory. That involved relocating to

Delémont Delémont (; fc, D'lémont; german: Delsberg, ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants . History The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn buria ...

which at the time was still in the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

(although the call for cantonal borders that more closely reflected language frontiers was already a longstanding cause of agitation). It was only on reaching the age of 46, after establishing herself at nearby

Courtételle Courtételle is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. History Courtételle is first mentioned in 1178 as ''Curtetele''. Geography Courtételle has an area of . Of this area, or 55.6% is used for ag ...

, that she embarked on the career for which she is today better remembered, as a children's author. After 1919 Lisa and Théo Wenger became regular visitors to Carona (Lugano) in

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, members of the little informal summer season writers and artists' colony surrounding the author

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include '' Demian'', '' Steppenwolf'', '' Siddhartha'', and '' The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual ...

who moved to

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

after the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Their daughter Ruth Wenger (1897-1994) became a particularly welcome guest at the "Casa Costanza" (identified in less respectful sources as "the parrot house"). Eventually, in 1924, Ruth Wenger married

. Ruth was twenty years younger than her husband and her first marriage was of short duration: the family attachment to Ticino appears to have lasted better, since it was at Carona that Lisa Wenger died in the autumn/fall of 1941.

Published output (selection)

* ''Das blaue Märchenbuch'' 1905 * ''Wie der Wald still ward'', animal story 1906 * '' Joggeli söll ga Birli schüttle'', 1908 * ''Prüfungen'', novel 1908 * ''Die Wunderdoktorin'', novel 1909 * ''Der Kampf um die Kanzel'', short story 1911 * ''Amoralische Fabeln'', 1920 * ''Baum ohne Blätter'', 1938 * ''Das Zeichen. Ein Schauspiel in drei Akten'', 1914 * ''Der Garten. Erzählungen aus dem Tessin'', 1924 * ''Der Vogel im Käfig'', novel 1922 * ''Der Waldfrevler'', 1919 * ''Die Altweibermühle. Zehn Frauenmärchen'', 1921 * ''Die drei gescheiten Männer von Au. Vetter Jeremias and die Schwestern Tanzeysen.'', novels 1919 * ''Die Longway und ihre Ehen.'', novel 1930 * ''Die Wunderdoktorin'', novel 1910 * ''Eine Heimkehr'' * ''Elisabeth sucht Gott'', 1941 * ''Er und Sie und das Paradies'', 1918 * ''Es schwärs Warte.'' Einakter, 1930 * ''Hans-Peter Ochsner.'', novel 1955 * ''Licht und Schatten in San Marto'', novel 1940 * ''Oh wie bös, oh nit so bös: die Geschichte vom Mannli und vom Fraueli'', 1946 * ''s Zeiche: ein Schauspiel in drei Akten'', 1916 * ''Verenas Hochzeit'', 1939 * ''Vier junge Musikanten erleben Abenteuer''. Zeichnungen von Fritz Deringer. Schweizerisches Jugendschriftenwerk 1940, SJW-Issue Nr. 88 * ''Was mich das Leben lehrte: Gedanken und Erfahrungen'', 1927 * ''Wie der Wald still ward'', 1907 * ''Aber, aber Kristinli''. Schweizerisches Jugendschriftenwerk 1935, SJW-Issue Nr. 48, Jubiläumsausgabe-Reprint 2006 with illustrations by

Meret Oppenheim In Egyptian mythology, Meret (also spelled Mert) was a goddess who was strongly associated with rejoicing, such as singing and dancing. In myth Meret was a token wife occasionally given to Hapy, the god of the Nile. Her name being a reference t ...

References

*''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wenger, Lisa 1858 births 1941 deaths 19th-century Swiss painters 20th-century Swiss painters 20th-century Swiss women writers Artists from Bern 20th-century Swiss novelists 20th-century short story writers Swiss women short story writers Swiss short story writers Swiss women painters Swiss women novelists Swiss writers in German 20th-century Swiss women artists 19th-century Swiss women artists