Karl Bickel

Karl Bickel at work as engraver

Karl Bickel (1886–1982[1]) was a Swiss engraver and graphic designer also known for the construction of the Paxmal memorial above Walenstadt. During his career he designed one hundred Swiss stamps[2] but also others for the countries Luxemburg, Portugal and Liechtenstein.[3]

Early life education

[edit]

Karl Bickel trained as a lithographer and stereotype designer between 1900 and 1904 following which he entered into service to the graphic designer Hüttner.[4] He followed up on his studies and attended evening courses in drawing and graphic at the Zurich University of the Arts.[4] In 1908 he opened his own graphic design studio in Zurich.[5] In 1912 he trained as a sculpture in Carrara, Italy.[6] where he contracted the pulmonary disease Tuberculosis and entered a sanatorium in Walenstadtberg in 1913 and 1914.[6]

After having recovered in 1914, Bickel returned to Zurich where he designed posters, often in collaboration with an other graphic designer.[4] The studio had a focus on fashion catalogues and designs of posters for cultural events.[1] Several of his poster were inspired by the works of the Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler.[4] In 1922 he closed the studio.[5] From 1923[7] onwards he would be an engraver for the Swiss postal services.[3] He was responsible for several sets of Swiss stamps, including the first airmail stamp of the Swiss Postal Telegraph and Telephone services (PTT) in 1923.[8] He also designed some engravings for the portrait stamps for the Pro Patria and Pro Juventute.[1]

In Schriina Hochrugg

[edit]

In 1924 he settled to Schriina Hochrugg above Walenstadtberg where he began to construct a house which eventually would become the peace memorial Paxmal.[6] For Pro Juventute all portrait stamps between 1932 and 1964 were designed by Kurt Bickel.[3] In 1924 the PTT would present the Universal Postal Union with an etching of the UPU monument in Bern designed by Kurt Bickel.[8] For the end of World War II in May 1945, he designed together with Aldo Patocchi [de] thirteen stamps ranging from 5 cents to 5 CHF which were to symbolize peace.[9] He quit from the PTT in 1965.[7]

Paxmal

[edit]
The Paxmal with the background of the Churfirsten

Between 1924 and 1949 he constructed a monument to peace Paxmal, a Neo Greek temple adorned with mosaics.[10] It is located in Schrina Hochrugg above Walenstadt.[6] In 1932 he began to build mosaics using weather resistant stone which adorn three sides of the Paxmal.[6] Man, woman, relationship and the creation of a new human and finally complete family are depicted on the mosaics on the left wall.[6] The right wall includes the struggles of life and concludes in a working community.[6] In the center the grown man is shown.[6] He would donate the Paxmal to his employer PTT in 1966.[6]

Legacy

[edit]

A museum was constructed in his memory in Walenstadt in Canton St.Gallen.[11] It was inaugurated in 2002.[7] It is located in a disestablished textiles factory.[11] The philatelist Heinrich Moser is said to have assembled a collection of all his stamps.[11]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1924 he moved from Zurich to Schriina Hochrugg above Walenstadtberg where he built a house which would later become the Paxmal.[6] He died in

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Der Markenstecher der Nation – Philatelisten-Verein Nidwalden" (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  2. ^ Bader, Urs (March 2018). "BRIEFMARKEN: Geschichte im Kleinstformat". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  3. ^ a b c "Karl Bickel - The Swiss Stamp Engraver". ABPS. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  4. ^ a b c d "Plakate Karl Bickel" (PDF). Plakatarchiv. p. 5.
  5. ^ a b "kultur-online - Karl Bickels Plakatkunst". kultur-online (in German). 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Paxmal auf Schrina Hochrugg". www.walenstadt.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  7. ^ a b c Yumpu.com. "Focus on Stamps 03/2008 - Die Schweizerische Post". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  8. ^ a b "Immortalizing art through stamps". Universal Postal Union. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  9. ^ de Capitani, François (2000). "Anbruch des Goldenen Zeitalters? : die Schatztruhe als Symbol des Friedens auf einer Briefmarke von 1945". Kunst + Architektur in der Schweiz. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ^ Dein, Alan (2013-12-04). "After You've Gone: Karl Bickel & Helvetia". After You've Gone. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  11. ^ a b c Gantenbein, Köbi (12 July 2018). "Hochparterre - Bickels Marken". Hochparterre (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-14.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Bickel&oldid=1194347092"