Charles Wyrsch

In the previously mentioned monography of 1990, he said: "... Bacon's new view of objectivity awakened in me the desire to return to figurative representation of the people, after I had designed color spaces under the influence of Mark Rothko."

He struggled for forms of expressions in a new and accurate representation of the people in our time. Art was for him the medium coverage. Under the impact of increasing environmental devastation followed from 1980 his work referred to him as "the enemy and the protest pictures" with titles like "concrete", "aggression", "flight" or "drug-related".

In 1971, he moved with his family to Kriens where he bought an atelier house from a painter. In the 1970s, finds Wyrsch, through the stimulation of Bacon's art which represents a new vision of objectivity, to represent back to the people.

During this time he also abstracted images of Christ. The Passion theme was deepened by the dramatic experience of the death of his three-year-old little daughter who died on a Good Friday. Under this impression he painted his most famous work, the "Stations of the Cross", 1966, for the Pius Church in Meggen.

In 1961, he moved with his family to Lucerne. In the monograph by Markus Brischgi (1990), he says: "... The objectivity had driven me into a corner; I destroyed many works and painted with a palette knife in a true color turmoil new pictures ... ". Up to this point, he was committed to the real matter and traditional painting. The affinity for abstraction is a key moment in his life, acting on his later representational paintings.

In 1953, he married Edith Hug and settled to Lachen Schwyz. He got his first big orders and successes.

The municipality of Buochs ordered a fresco for the new school building. In the 1950s Wyrsch painted his first series of paintings of the "barons". The elongated faces with hat reminiscent of Modigliani and Utrillo, their paintings he learned during his time in Paris. The turning point in the creative process of Wyrsch took place towards the end of 1950.

After this examination favored by Pfister on colors he followed another program at a school of applied arts, this time in Basel with Ernst Buchner and the sculptor Walter Bodmer, with whom he mainly dealt with matters of form. In 1949 he temporarily moved to Paris.

From 1939 to 1943 he attended the School of Applied Arts in Lucerne.

Charles Wyrsch (5 July 1920 – 16 June 2019) was a Swiss artist and painter.

Wyrsch was born in Buochs, Nidwalden in July 1920. His mother died seven days after having given birth on puerperal fever. His father, Carl II Wyrsch, married a second time. From this marriage came eight children. Wyrsch grew up with his grandparents, Carl I and Maria in Buochs. From 1935 to 1938, he was trained as a painter at his father's place.