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

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

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 o ...

figures in the

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as well as

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

Biography

Gieng, who was probably of

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n 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

in the 1540s, in Solothurn from 1554 to 1556, and in 1557 in St. Gallen.

Works

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

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...

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 A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

and eating at the Spitalmaster's table”). Details_Kindlifresserbrunnen Ogre Fountain in Bern Switzerland by Robbie Conceptuel

For this reason, his authorship of the individual fountain figures, which are unsigned, has long been a matter of dispute. Paul Schenk's seminal work of 1945, ''Berner Brunnen-Chronik'' (Bernese Fountain Chronicle) attributes three fountains to Gieng with certainty—the '' Pfeiferbrunnen'' ( piper 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 fountain)—while considering it "quite possible" that Gieng also created the other wells. Later works such as Paul Hofer'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 the Latin 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 (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

es, stonework in the church of Tafers, 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