Magnificent Battle of Lions

 

by Albert Welti

 

Albert Welti (Zurich 1862-1912 Bern): Swiss Artist famous for his fantastic depiction of dreams, nightmares and symbolist allegory. In the collections of major Swiss museums and the subject of several books, Welti's work was recently featured in the exhibit "1900, Symbolism and Art Nouveau in Swiss Painting" in the city of Sion.

After studying photography in Lausanne, Albert Welti traveled to Munich to study at the Munich Academy of Art. Following a stay in Venice, he became a student of one of Switzerland's most original 19th Century artists, Arnold Boecklin. Boecklin, master of a magical world of nymphs and satyrs, had a profound influence on Welti. Latter Welti studied Engraving with Peter Halm, the Bernese artist. The last year's of his life were dedicated to painting the Salle du Conseil des Etats (Ständeratssaals) in the Swiss Parliament in Berne.

Welti was a very close friend of the author Hermann Hesse, author of Siddartha and Steppenwolf. Their friendship dated to their time together in Munich. Following Welti's death in 1921, Hesse and his family moved into the Welti's house in Bern, Switzerland and it was there that Hesse wrote many of his later works.

Hermann Hesse wrote of Welti:
"Die beiden Quellen seiner Meisterschaft waren eine starke, eigenwillige, aus tiefen Seelengründen genährte Phantasie und ein altmeisterlicher Formwille."

Loose translation: "The two sources of his mastery were a strong, independent fantasy nurtured from the depths of his soul and a sense of shape akin to that of the old masters. "

Signature: Signed in the Plate