Hans Berger

Portrait of a man by Hans Berger - Drawing 38x51 cm

Hans Berger, born in Bienne on July 9, 1882 and died in Aire-la-Ville on April 7, 1977, was a Swiss painter. His father, Johann Josef, of Solothurn origin, is a worker in the watch industry and his mother, Julia Barbara Rihs, née Bosshard, is of Zurich origin. Between 1889 and 1895, Hans went to school in Solothurn, then his family moved to Geneva. He went to the College of Geneva from 1896 to 1898, then did his apprenticeship in an architect's office until 1902, while at the same time taking drawing lessons at the School of Fine Arts in Geneva. In 1902, he left for Paris, where he attended the National School of Fine Arts and worked in various architectural offices. In 1907, thanks to a grant, he returned to Paris, where he lived in solitude and experienced "a deep existential crisis", from which he emerged thanks to the reading of Nietzsche. In the spring of 1908, he really took up painting and made copies at the Louvre. His friend the painter Alexandre Blanchet made his bust and advised him to go to Brittany to paint, a trip that would have a profound impact on Berger4. In the spring of 1909, he returned to Geneva, then spent the summer on the shores of Lake Flaine, in Haute-Savoie, in isolation, to paint. That year and in 1910, he made stays in Provence.