| Emil Medardus Hagner. The self-taught Swiss artist Emil Medardus Hagner was born October 11, 1921 in Zurich. Hagner authored children's books, but also created oil paintings, drawings, etchings, gouaches, watercolors and illustrations. Hagner called himself the Märlimaler von Zürich (Zurich painter of fairy tales). Hagners mother, Katharina Gyr, worked as a maid and factory worker before marrying his presumed father, a postal worker. A rough childhood left him traumatized; art became a means for the young Hagner to escape his negative experiences. He often took comfort in drawing scenes from fairy tales. Hagners limited education included classes at the local School of Arts and Crafts and later began, but never finished, an apprenticeship as a film poster designer. At the age of 20, he enrolled in military training but, refusing to obey, was sent to a psychiatric clinic. After his release, he worked odd jobs and started painting his first, rather unconventional fairytale scenes. He later stated that painting became a means of controlling his frightening fantasies which often threatened to distort his perception of reality. While working as a ceramics painter in 1947, Hagner met his future wife Ruth. Married in 1953, their daughter, Serpentina, was born in 1956, followed by two sons born in the early 1960s. Hagner enjoyed reading travel reports about foreign countries and their inhabitants; he often fantasized about emigrating. A Disney movie about Alaska began a fascination with the distant frontier. Hagner even contacted the movies director, Yule Kilcher, inspiring Hagner to write and draw a story titled Schneider Huck aus Alaska (Taylor Huck from Alaska) which was published in a Lucerne newspaper. Hagners collaboration with the newspaper ended and he worked odd jobs sporadically, quitting once he had enough money to support a period of art making. However, his bohemian life ended after the birth of his second child and Hagner became an engineering draftsman to support his family. Hagner's friend, caricaturist Hans Ueli Steiger, convinced a publishing house to print Hagner's stories. In 1956, the children's book Huck geht nach Alaska (Huck goes to Alaska) was published. Resembling a comic book, a format that had not yet found mainstream acceptance, the book had limited success. Hagner suffered from mental illness--bouts of depression and manic behavior worsened by alcoholism. He had a severe mental breakdown at the age of 57. As his delusional fantasies got worse, Hagner lost his job and lived on a disability pension. In his last years, Hagner became something of an oddity in town. He drew pictures for people he liked and carried around gems in his pockets. He decorated his hat with twigs and leaves as he believed they would give him energy. Hagner died December 7, 1999 in Zurich. Bettina Pönisch.
(Swiss, 1921 - 1999)
The self-taught Swiss artist Emil Medardus Hagner was born October 11, 1921 in Zurich. Hagner authored children's books, but also created oil paintings, drawings, etchings, gouaches, watercolors and illustrations. Hagner called himself the Märlimaler von Zürich (Zurich painter of fairy tales). Hagners mother, Katharina Gyr, worked as a maid and factory worker before marrying his presumed father, a postal worker. A rough childhood left him traumatized; art became a means for the young Hagner to escape his negative experiences. He often took comfort in drawing scenes from fairy tales. Hagners limited education included classes at the local School of Arts and Crafts and later began, but never finished, an apprenticeship as a film poster designer. At the age of 20, he enrolled in military training but, refusing to obey, was sent to a psychiatric clinic. After his release, he worked odd jobs and started painting his first, rather unconventional fairytale scenes. He later stated that painting became a means of controlling his frightening fantasies which often threatened to distort his perception of reality. While working as a ceramics painter in 1947, Hagner met his future wife Ruth. Married in 1953, their daughter, Serpentina, was born in 1956, followed by two sons born in the early 1960s. Hagner enjoyed reading travel reports about foreign countries and their inhabitants; he often fantasized about emigrating. A Disney movie about Alaska began a fascination with the distant frontier. Hagner even contacted the movies director, Yule Kilcher, inspiring Hagner to write and draw a story titled Schneider Huck aus Alaska (Taylor Huck from Alaska) which was published in a Lucerne newspaper. Hagners collaboration with the newspaper ended and he worked odd jobs sporadically, quitting once he had enough money to support a period of art making. However, his bohemian life ended after the birth of his second child and Hagner became an engineering draftsman to support his family. Hagner's friend, caricaturist Hans Ueli Steiger, convinced a publishing house to print Hagner's stories. In 1956, the children's book Huck geht nach Alaska (Huck goes to Alaska) was published. Resembling a comic book, a format that had not yet found mainstream acceptance, the book had limited success. Hagner suffered from mental illness--bouts of depression and manic behavior worsened by alcoholism. He had a severe mental breakdown at the age of 57. As his delusional fantasies got worse, Hagner lost his job and lived on a disability pension. In his last years, Hagner became something of an oddity in town. He drew pictures for people he liked and carried around gems in his pockets. He decorated his hat with twigs and leaves as he believed they would give him energy. Hagner died December 7, 1999 in Zurich. Bettina Pönisch |
