An etcher’s world of colour

Hans Eggimann was a multifaceted artist from Bern. Originally trained as an architect, he increasingly turned to graphic art from 1910 onwards. He found his distinctive artistic voice in the technique of etching and gained recognition throughout Switzerland, even achieving international acclaim for his bookplates. Eggimann created his prints with meticulous detail and rich imagination – at times whimsical, at times marked by a sombre, reflective mood – and consistently infused his works with refined satirical humour.

By Lisa Oberli

In this etching by Hans Eggimann, he depicts himself in his studio, surrounded by various tools, with several of his works hanging on the wall. — Hans Eggimann (1872–1929), “Mein Atelier”, 1917, etching and aquatint on wove paper

“My Studio”, a self-portrait from 1917 based on a photograph, shows Hans Eggimann in his work coat, deep in concentration at his copper printing press. The scene has an almost magical quality: lost in contemplation, the artist examines a copy of his anti-war work “The Victor” from 1915, while in the centre of the composition another copy of the same piece seems to emerge from the press as though guided by an unseen hand. On the printing table, one can even make out the engraved copper plate from which the two prints were taken. Several etching tools can be seen in the background, and there are more of Eggimann's prints hanging on the wall: “Desire” (1910), “Slander” (1911) and “The Bureaucrat” (1912) – key works from his graphic output of the preceding years. By including mysterious mythical creatures and a menacing skull, Eggimann transforms his studio into a stage for his inner world, demons and messengers of death included.

This etching by Hans Eggimann shows a young artist in a white work coat bending over a drawing on a grid, with an overflowing wastepaper basket under his desk. — Hans Eggimann (1872–1929), “Der Radierer”, 1910, etching and aquatint on wove paper

The print “The Etcher” from 1910 also impressively shows the quiet, conscientious creative process of the printmaker – this time, however, viewed from the beginning: the drafting of the preliminary design. It shows a young artist in a white work coat intently bent over a drawing on grid paper, with an overflowing wastepaper basket full of rejected sketches beneath him – each one the material manifestation of self-doubt.

The “peintre-graveur” and “imprimeur”

Bookplate for Georg Bein in three different colours. — Hans Eggimann (1872–1929), ex libris for Georg Bein, 1912, etching and aquatint on wove paper, different colour variants (Photos: Zurich Central Library, Digitisation Centre)

The isolation of artistic production, the oscillation between bursting creativity and gnawing doubt, shaped Eggimann's graphic work. As a one-man show, he took complete responsibility for the design of his prints from conception to final proof: he conceived the image, prepared the preliminary drawing, etched the copper plate and usually handled the printing himself. This placed him firmly in the tradition of the “peintre-graveurs” – printmakers whose work is characterised by a particularly close connection between ideas, designs and skilled implementation.

It remains unclear whether Eggimann truly studied etching under Albert Welti (1862–1912), known then as the “Swiss master of the needle”, or whether as a lone creator he simply admired Welti for his imaginative wealth of ideas. However, it is undisputed that like Welti, Eggimann was often perceived by his peers as old-fashioned. His works were seen as outdated and their idiosyncratic character met with little approval. Yet among certain circles of connoisseurs, it was exactly this uncompromising originality that was prized as a sort of silent protest against artistic conformity. Similar to his role model Welti, Eggimann also devoted himself to the art of book plates, but unlike Welti, he held the medium in extraordinarily high regard.

Splendid colours in a small package

Music library bookplates for Alice Elsener in seven different colour schemes. — Hans Eggimann (1872–1929), music bookplate for Alice Elsener, 1912, etching and aquatint on wove paper, different colour variants (Photos: Zurich Central Library, Digitisation Centre)

Throughout his life, Hans Eggimann created a total of 97 different bookplates – for himself and his inner circle and on commission for private individuals and institutions. In their visual and conceptual richness, many of these small ex libris resemble original artistic prints. What is striking is Eggimann’s experimental use of printing ink. Almost all of his bookplates, particularly those using intaglio approaches to etching and aquatint, exist in several colour variations, which sometimes vary only subtly but occasionally differ markedly from each other. This abundance of colour variations demonstrates that Eggimann likely viewed the inking of his intaglio plates as a creative field in itself. The varied colouring sometimes turned his bookplates into unique miniatures, which further increased their appeal and value to collectors. This brings us back to the self-portrait mentioned above: with the intaglio press as a key element of the work, Eggimann presents himself not merely as an etcher but also as an accomplished printer – an image that that encapsulates his identity as a printmaker.

Hans Eggimann (1872–1929) was a Bernese architect, painter and printmaker. After studying in Dresden and Paris, he worked on the construction of Bern’s Kornhaus Bridge and on the interior furnishings of the Swiss parliament building. Starting in 1919, he increasingly devoted himself to the fine arts and to etching in particular. He created numerous works with imaginative and satirical content, including bookplates that gained international recognition. Eggimann was a co-founder of “Berner Bärenspiegel”, a satirical Bernese magazine. In 1929, he took his own life.