| Robert Züblin | 29.12.2023 | 13:01 h |
Practical format with many illustrations
The book “Julius Bissier and Richard Bampi: The Freiburg Ceramic Mural” was written by art historian and Bampi expert Dr Maria Schüly and is only published in German. The original German title is: “Julius Bissier und Richard Bampi: Das Freiburger Keramikbild”. With its 96 pages and 68 illustrations, the treatise is very extensive, considering that it mainly deals with just one art work, namely the ceramic mural that Bissier designed and for which Bampi made the ceramic tiles used.
In addition to many interesting photos of the creation of the ceramic mural, for example, there is also a photo from Richard Bampi’s glaze laboratory, photos of ceramic murals by other artists from the period and photos of other ceramics that Bissier designed, such as vases. Schüly places the Freiburg ceramic mural in the context of artists’ ceramics (painters’ ceramics) and other ceramic pictures produced at the time of its creation, for example by Victor Vasarely, Fernand Léger or Joan Miró. However, Maria Schüly also attempts to put Bissier’s relationship to the arts and crafts into perspective, as Bissier’s wife, Lisbeth, played down the reasons for Bissier’s excursions into the arts and crafts – which also included his interest in ceramics – with financial hardship.
Schüly’s treatise “Julius Bissier and Richard Bampi: The Freiburg Ceramic Mural” has a gatefold cover at the front, so that large parts of the ceramic mural can already be seen on the unfolded cover. Approximately in the centre of the book, the mural can be seen in its full width through two fold-out pages.
Exciting information on Bampi’s glazes, for example
The ceramic mural was erected in 1956 by Bampi and Bissier on the former stable yard of the Jesuit College in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), which then as now belongs to the University of Freiburg. The mosaic mural originally measured 19.57 metres wide and 2.58 metres high.
Maria Schüly has compiled a wealth of interesting information on the creation, realisation, care, restoration and current situation of the ceramic mural. The research went so deep that Schüly even presents technical information on the production of the tiles and the glaze components, as well as interesting quotes from letters respectively drafts by those involved in the project.
Bissier was not satisfied with the result
One of the problems in turning Bissier’s draft drawing into a ceramic mural was the colours of the draft, which Bissier painted in ink and which had to be transferred to large ceramic plates. On the other hand, the coherent colour areas of the large elements had to be divided up, as Maria Schüly explains.
In the end, Julius Bissier was dissatisfied with the ceramic mural. He was disappointed that the glazes were only partially opaque (non-transparent). What bothered Bissier the most, however, was that the wall on which the ceramic mural was realised was painted bright white by the construction authority instead of grey-pink. This meant that even fine joints formed white, prominent lines. Smaller colour elements were even plastered over. All in all, the overall composition was broken down into its individual parts more clearly than planned. Because of the blank white wall, Bissier was also in favour of the ceramic mural being framed with plants in front of it and partially disappearing behind these plants.
It should be noted that Bissier’s disappointment regarding the construction authority’s handling of the ceramic mural had no influence on his close and long-standing friendship with Bampi, and why should it? It is also not surprising that it remained Bissier’s only ceramic mural that he designed. Bampi, on the other hand, had created other ceramic murals, either based on his own design or the designs of other artists, as we learn from Schüly.
Disfigurement of the ceramic mural to this day
Schüly also traces the history of the obstruction of the ceramic mural and the expanding planting as well as the restoration in 2022, after the mural was completely freed from the obscuring plant growth.
Despite the restoration, the view of the ceramic mural as a whole is still obscured by the patio furniture and a large stone fountain. At the end of the book, Maria Schüly once again emphasises the great importance of the mural, especially as it is the only ceramic mural by Julius Bissier and at the same time demonstrates Richard Bampi’s outstanding skill in the production of glazes.
Originally, the public access to the former stable yard from the Jesuit College – where the ceramic mural on the east wall is located – was intended as a walkway between Bertoldstraße and Franziskanerplatz. Even today, this access is only a narrow passageway. However, the reader finds it even more incomprehensible that a work of art such as the ceramic mural by such outstanding artists as Bissier and Bampi has been defaced over decades and is still being defaced today; an annoyance that presumably does not lead to an outcry because it happens far too often with works of art in public spaces. Maria Schüly’s conclusion in the book is therefore consistent:
“What is taken for granted today in the protected space of the museum is rather rare in public spaces: respectful distance to the work of art.”
The Freiburg Ceramic Mural