Paul BURCKHARDT

Paul Burckhardt (1880-1961) was a Swiss artist who was active as a painter and writer, among other things. He was born on May 12, 1880 in Rüti, in the canton of Zurich. His father was the dean and pastor Abel Burckhardt, a descendant of the well-known pastor and composer Abel Burckhardt, while his mother Karolina Luise, née Hess, was the daughter of Johann Jakob Hess. Burckhardt had an older brother named Carl Burckhardt, and his uncle was Titus Burckhardt, while his nephew was named Ernst Friedrich Burckhardt.

After the early death of his father, the family moved to Basel, where Paul Burckhardt began his education. He completed an apprenticeship as an architect under Jakob Eduard Vischer-Sarasin and Rudolf Eduard Fueter-Gelzer. He then continued his studies at the Technical University of Munich under Carl Hocheder and Martin Dülfer before completing his studies in Darmstadt under Joseph Maria Olbrich. Back in Basel, he worked with Rudolf Linder on various architectural projects before finally devoting himself to landscape painting as a self-taught artist.

In 1905, Burckhardt undertook a study trip to southern Italy with his friends Paul Basilius Barth, Paul Altherr and Hermann Meyer. He spent time in Holland between 1911 and 1912. His works were exhibited in renowned institutions such as the Kunsthalle Bern, the Kunsthalle Basel, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen and the Kunsthaus Glarus.

After the First World War, Burckhardt visited his sister Maria, who was living in British India with her husband, the missionary Paul Eduard Burckhardt. He later wrote and illustrated the work “Reiseschilderung eines Malers” as well as the “Kochbüchlein für Einzelgänger” and “Die heiteren Reiserlebnisse eines Malers in Italien”.

Paul Burckhardt died on January 14, 1961 in Basel and was buried in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery there. His extensive artistic legacy and literary work continue to contribute to Switzerland’s cultural diversity to this day.