Ricco (October 13, 1915 – March 27, 1972), born Erich Wassmer, 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 ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. His paintings often depict idealizing dream worlds in the genre of

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

Life

Erich Wassmer was born in

Allschwil Allschwil () is a List of towns in Switzerland, village and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Arlesheim (district), Arlesheim in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Allschwil is a sea ...

into an upper-class environment, the son of cement factory owner and art patron ''Max Wassmer'' (1887–1970). From the age of 3 he grew up at Bremgarten Castle near

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, which was filled with art and culture. Max and Tilli-Wassmer-Zurlinden socialised with poets, painters and composers such as

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

, Louis Moilliet,

Cuno Amiet Cuno Amiet (28 March 1868 – 6 July 1961) was a Swiss painter, illustrator, graphic artist and sculptor. As the first Swiss painter to give precedence to colour in composition, he was a pioneer of modern art in Switzerland. Biography Amiet was ...

, Paul Basilius Barth and

Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss List of Romantic-era composers, Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and Conductor (music), conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of lied, art ...

. Early on Erich Wassmer was interested in the art of painting. The family encouraged his artistic talent and his interest in art, literature and music, after the continuation of the parental cement factory had been secured by his two brothers. Wassmer marked the end of his childhood with a new name: From 1937 onwards Erich Wassmer signed his paintings with Ricco — a name like a magic word — instead of the name of his well-known industrialist and philanthropist father. Ricco studied in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and was taught by

. However, the influence of his teachers remained marginal. Ricco was fascinated by the sea, as well as by the desire to explore lost paradises and undiscovered territories. He had the symbol of an anchor tattooed on his arm and added this symbol henceforth to his signature on his paintings. During the forties, he crossed the ocean on a freighter, and lived for a while in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

. In the fifties he settled at Bompré Castle near

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

. In 1963, the French police discovered in his studio photos of nude boys who served as the basis for his paintings. A French court convicted him — without a formal indictment — of sexual "exploitation" of young boys and breach of the morality to eight-months in prison. Ricco never recovered completely from this prison sentence. Following his release, Ricco returned to Switzerland and settled in a mansion in Ropraz. He died there in 1972 at the age of 56. Until his death Ricco Wassmer remained a family shareholder in the Portland-Cement-Werke AG.

Work

Ricco's early work (e.g. his paintings of castle life) can be classified as

primitivist In the arts of the Western world, Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that means to recreate the experience of ''the primitive'' time, place, and person, either by emulation or by re-creation. In Western philosophy, Primitivism propo ...

, while his mature work includes

still lifes A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or human-made (drinking glasses, books, ...

, harbor scenes, exotic motifs and

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

figures. He often painted dream worlds in the style of

with lean boys surrounded by surreal arrangements. Ricco's paintings reveal his longing for a state of androgynous, youthful perfection. Ricco's work "is anchored in everyday reality, but has overtones of fantasy or wonder" creating a surreal atmosphere.

Exhibitions

*1953

Kunsthalle Bern The Kunsthalle Bern is a ''Kunsthalle'' (art exposition hall) on the Helvetiaplatz in Bern, Switzerland. It was built in 1917–1918 by the Kunsthalle Bern Association and opened on October 5, 1918. Since then, it has been the site of numerous ex ...

*1969

*1988

Aargauer Kunsthaus The Aargauer Kunsthaus () is a Swiss art museum founded in 1959, and located in Aarau. The museum collection includes Swiss art from the 18th century to the present day; and ''Naturama'', a natural history collection. History The art museum st ...

*2002/2003

Museum of Fine Arts Bern The Museum of Fine Arts Bern (German: ''Kunstmuseum Bern''), established in 1879 in Bern, is the museum of fine arts of the de facto capital of Switzerland. Collections Its holdings run from the Middle Ages to the present. It houses works by Pa ...

*2008 Fondation l'Estrée *2009

*2015/2016

Museum of Fine Arts Bern
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References

External links

Ricco

Catalogue raisonné A (or critical catalogue) is an annotated listing of the works of an artist or group of artists and can contain all works or a selection of works categorised by different parameters such as medium or period. A ''catalogue raisonné'' is normal ...

Ricco Wassmer ~ New Works in the Collection of the Kunstmuseum Bern Opens
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The New York Times
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricco 1915 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss male artists