DOI Artikel:
Sauterel, Valérie: The functioning and development of Kirsch & Fleckner's workshop in Fribourg during the first half of the twentieth century
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.51154#0067
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12. Fortuné Bovard, Christ in glory above the ancient church of
Cugy, 1907, project for a window of the church of St Martin,
Cugy (Fribourg). Photo: Vitrocentre Romont, Y. Eigenmann
St. Peter (to the left) we can see Saint Peters Basilica in
Rome. Behind St. Paul we can distinguish the ruins of the
Acropolis in Athens, with the Parthenon. The example
of these cartoons shows an interesting way of working.
Reusing the same cartoons for the figures and only cre-
ating new backgrounds is a way not to waste time. The
twenty stained-glass windows at Onnens are the last work
done by Buchs on stained-glass. According to informa-
tion transmitted by his granddaughter, Mme Suzanne
Wechsler,14 it seems that the artist suffered too much from
tensions with the parish authorities and wished to dis-
tance himself from that world.
AN EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATION:
JEAN-LOUIS FORTUNÉ BOVARD
AND THE CHURCH OF VUISTERNENS-
DEVANT-ROMONT
More or less during the same period as with Buchs, the
workshop collaborated with another talented artist: Jean-
-Louis Fortuné Bovard. Probably born in Fribourg, he re-
ceived, like Buchs, an excellent artistic education in Ge-
neva, Basel, Munich and Paris. Bovard was likely Eugène
Grassets student at the Guerin school in Paris from
around 1900 to 1903. He was apprenticed between 1891
and 1904, perhaps in Greiners workshop or at Edouard
Hoschs in Lausanne. In 1904, he moved to Lausanne and
opened his own studio about 1907.15 He created several
stained-glass windows for Kirsch & Fleckner as well as for
Chiaras worshop in Lausanne.16 The ensemble of stained-
glass windows in the church of Cugy in Fribourg, which
was the subject of Augustin Pasquier s thesis,17 was one of
Bovards most important works with Kirsch & Fleckner
[Fig. 12].18 The realization of the stained-glass windows
for the church of Vuisternens-devant-Romont, in 1906, is
a really interesting case which allows us to understand the
functioning of the workshop. Four windows in the choir
were executed by Kirsch & Fleckner, based on Raymond
Buchs’ drawings. For one of them, representing Saint Jo-
seph and Christ [Fig. 13], we possess two sketches. The
first one is signed by Raymond Buchs, and corresponds
14 We are very grateful to Mrs. Suzanne Wechsler, Raymond Bu-
chs’ granddaughter, for sharing many items of information and
archival materials relating to Buchs and preserved at her house
in Bern.
15 A. Pasquier, Les vitraux de l’église de Cugy: conçus par l’ab-
bé Edouard Gambon, élaborés par l’artiste Fortuné Bovard, réali-
sés par l’atelier Kirsch & [et] Fleckner: art néotemporaliste dans la
République chrétienne du canton de Fribourg, en 1907, PhD diss.,
University of Fribourg, 1999, pp. 54-57.
16 C. Hostettler, LAtelier P. Chiara - Lausanne: un producteur de
vitraux domestiques au début du 20e siècle, (Mémoire de Licence
inédit), PhD diss., University of Lausanne, 2001, pp. 35-36.
17 A. Pasquier, Les vitraux de l’église de Cugy (as in note 15).
18 A. Pasquier, ‘Du savoir faire du verrier’ (as in note 1).
12. Fortuné Bovard, Christ in glory above the ancient church of
Cugy, 1907, project for a window of the church of St Martin,
Cugy (Fribourg). Photo: Vitrocentre Romont, Y. Eigenmann
St. Peter (to the left) we can see Saint Peters Basilica in
Rome. Behind St. Paul we can distinguish the ruins of the
Acropolis in Athens, with the Parthenon. The example
of these cartoons shows an interesting way of working.
Reusing the same cartoons for the figures and only cre-
ating new backgrounds is a way not to waste time. The
twenty stained-glass windows at Onnens are the last work
done by Buchs on stained-glass. According to informa-
tion transmitted by his granddaughter, Mme Suzanne
Wechsler,14 it seems that the artist suffered too much from
tensions with the parish authorities and wished to dis-
tance himself from that world.
AN EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATION:
JEAN-LOUIS FORTUNÉ BOVARD
AND THE CHURCH OF VUISTERNENS-
DEVANT-ROMONT
More or less during the same period as with Buchs, the
workshop collaborated with another talented artist: Jean-
-Louis Fortuné Bovard. Probably born in Fribourg, he re-
ceived, like Buchs, an excellent artistic education in Ge-
neva, Basel, Munich and Paris. Bovard was likely Eugène
Grassets student at the Guerin school in Paris from
around 1900 to 1903. He was apprenticed between 1891
and 1904, perhaps in Greiners workshop or at Edouard
Hoschs in Lausanne. In 1904, he moved to Lausanne and
opened his own studio about 1907.15 He created several
stained-glass windows for Kirsch & Fleckner as well as for
Chiaras worshop in Lausanne.16 The ensemble of stained-
glass windows in the church of Cugy in Fribourg, which
was the subject of Augustin Pasquier s thesis,17 was one of
Bovards most important works with Kirsch & Fleckner
[Fig. 12].18 The realization of the stained-glass windows
for the church of Vuisternens-devant-Romont, in 1906, is
a really interesting case which allows us to understand the
functioning of the workshop. Four windows in the choir
were executed by Kirsch & Fleckner, based on Raymond
Buchs’ drawings. For one of them, representing Saint Jo-
seph and Christ [Fig. 13], we possess two sketches. The
first one is signed by Raymond Buchs, and corresponds
14 We are very grateful to Mrs. Suzanne Wechsler, Raymond Bu-
chs’ granddaughter, for sharing many items of information and
archival materials relating to Buchs and preserved at her house
in Bern.
15 A. Pasquier, Les vitraux de l’église de Cugy: conçus par l’ab-
bé Edouard Gambon, élaborés par l’artiste Fortuné Bovard, réali-
sés par l’atelier Kirsch & [et] Fleckner: art néotemporaliste dans la
République chrétienne du canton de Fribourg, en 1907, PhD diss.,
University of Fribourg, 1999, pp. 54-57.
16 C. Hostettler, LAtelier P. Chiara - Lausanne: un producteur de
vitraux domestiques au début du 20e siècle, (Mémoire de Licence
inédit), PhD diss., University of Lausanne, 2001, pp. 35-36.
17 A. Pasquier, Les vitraux de l’église de Cugy (as in note 15).
18 A. Pasquier, ‘Du savoir faire du verrier’ (as in note 1).