Hans Gieng (first mentioned 1525 – died 1562) was a Swiss

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sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

best known for his public

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

figures in the Old Town of Bern as well as

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

Biography

Gieng, who was probably of Swabian origin, is recorded to have become a citizen of Fribourg and a member of the traders' guild in 1527. He likely first worked in the sculpture workshop of Hans Geiler, whom he succeeded in 1533. In earlier centuries, Geiler and Gieng were sometimes confused with one another, but modern research indicates that they were actually two distinct persons. As a sculptor, Gieng was mainly active in Fribourg. He also worked in Bern in the 1540s, in

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

from 1554–56, and in 1557 in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

Works

Gieng's style is close to Swabian art: traditional and still in the style of

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in his religious creations, but forceful and realistic in the secular works.

Freiburg

In Freiburg, the Renaissance council table (1546) and the figures of the seven public

s (1547–60), considered the most significant ensemble of sculptural art from this period in Switzerland, are among his principal works.

Bern

Gieng created several if not most of the public fountains of Bern that were put up between 1542 and 1546. His presence in the city is sparsely attested in the surviving record: a 1543 Council diary entry reports a ''“Meyster Hans, Bildhower, im grossen Spital z'Herbrig sin und an des spittelmeisters tisch ässen”'' (“Master Hans, sculptor, residing in the great Hospital and eating at the Spitalmaster's table”). For this reason, his authorship of the individual fountain figures, which are unsigned, has long been a matter of dispute.

Paul Schenk Paul (Edmund) Schenk (11 February 1899 – 30 August 1977) was a German music theorist. Life Born in Leipzig, Schenk studied theory, composition and conducting at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, where he also received a teaching ...

's seminal work of 1945, ''Berner Brunnen-Chronik'' (Bernese Fountain Chronicle) attributes three fountains to Gieng with certainty—the ''Pfeiferbrunnen'' (

piper Piper may refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe Television * Piper Chapman, lea ...

fountain), the ''Kindlifresserbrunnen'' (

ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

fountain) and the ''Simsonbrunnen'' (

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

fountain)—while considering it "quite possible" that Gieng also created the other wells. Later works such as

Paul Hofer Paul Hofer (born May 13, 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a former professional American football player who played running back for six seasons in the NFL. He was a part of the San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the S ...

's ''Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Bern'' of 1952 or Berchtold Weber's ''Historisch-topographisches Lexikon der Stadt Bern'' of 1976 are virtually certain of Gieng's authorship of most Bernese fountains.

Other works

Other works attributed to Gieng include monumental

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

es, stonework in the church of

Tafers Tafers (french: Tavel ; frp, Tavél ) is a municipality in the district of Sense in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is one of the municipalities with a large majority of German speakers in the mostly French speaking Canton of Fribour ...

, statues, tombstones, and heraldic motifs.

References

*
Hans Gieng, Bildhauer
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gieng, Hans Swiss sculptors 1562 deaths Year of birth unknown Male sculptors Swiss male artists