Robert Zünd (3 May 1827,

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

– 15 January 1909, Lucerne) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

landscape painter.

Life

Zünd came from a middle-class family. After attending high school in his home town, he was taught drawing and painting in the studios of Jakob Schwegler (1793–1866). In 1848, at the suggestion of Joseph Zelger (1812–1885), a landscape painter from

Nidwalden Canton of Nidwalden or Nidwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Stans. It is traditionally considered a " half-canto ...

, he moved to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where he was initially taught by François Diday then by Diday's student

Alexandre Calame Alexandre Calame (28 May 1810 – 19 March 1864) was a Swiss landscape painter, associated with the Düsseldorf School. Biography He was born in Arabie at the time belonging to Corsier-sur-Vevey, today a part of Vevey. He was the son of a skill ...

. In the spring of 1851, he met

Rudolf Koller Rudolf Koller (21 May 1828 – 5 January 1905) was a Swiss painter. He is associated with a realist and classicist style, and also with the essentially Romanticism, romantic Düsseldorf school of painting. Koller's style is similar to that of the ...

and they became good friends. After an unsuccessful attempt to create a local artists' association, they left Geneva. In 1852 Zünd traveled to Paris. At the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, he studied the works of the Dutch and French masters of the 17th Century. His first major work was ''The Harvest'' (1860), now in the

Kunstmuseum Basel The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world and is generally considered to be the most important museum of art in Switzerland. It is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends ba ...

. That same year, he copied works by

Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in I ...

, Ruisdael, and

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid sur ...

in the Gemälde Gallery,

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1863, he settled on the outskirts of Lucerne, and rarely left for any extended period of time after that. Between 1867 and 1877, his religious faith began to appear as biblical motifs in his pictures, such as ''The Road to Emmaus'' (1877). In 1882 he completed ''Der Eichenwald'' (The Oak Forest), one of his best known works. The image was based on an earlier study and a smaller 1859 version.

Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called '' Seldwyla Folks'' (''Die Leute von Se ...

visited Zünd's humble art studio while pursuing his interest in art and was impressed by what he saw, declaring that it approached the true ideal landscape. The painting was exhibited in Zürich at the of 1883. Today the picture is owned by the

Kunsthaus Zürich The Kunsthaus Zürich is an art museum in Zurich. It is the biggest art museum in Switzerland by area and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over time by the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, a nonprofit art soc ...

. In 1889, he and Koller traveled together to the Internationale Kunstausstellung (International Art Exhibition) in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 1906, the

University of Zürich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate, and a street in Lucerne is named after him.

Style

Zünd's art is distinguished by a special closeness to nature and his highly naturalistic, richly detailed style of painting. His passions were mainly for idyllic landscapes around Lucerne. He avoided depicting modern facilities such as buildings and railways. His landscapes are generally arranged according to classical composition theory.

Selected works

File:Zünd Eichenwald 1882.jpg, ''Oak Forest'' File:Robert Zünd Das Ernten.jpg, ''The Harvest'' File:Zünd Bei der Sempacher Schlachtkapelle 1867.jpg, ''Near the Schlachtkapelle in

Sempach Sempach is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sursee (Amt), Sursee in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. History It has retained some traces of its medieval appearance, ...

'' File:Zünd Gang nach Emmaus 1877.jpg, ''The Way to

Emmaus Emmaus ( ; ; ; ) is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before two of his disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus. Although its geograp ...

'' File:Zünd Bauern mit Ochsengespann beim Eggen.jpg, ''Ox Team in

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

'' File:Zünd Buchenwald 1887.jpg, ''Beech Wood''

Sources

*''Von Anker bis Zünd, Die Kunst im jungen Bundesstaat 1848 – 1900'', Kunsthaus

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, 1998

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zund, Robert 1827 births 1909 deaths 19th-century Swiss painters 19th-century Swiss male artists Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss painters 20th-century Swiss male artists People from Lucerne