Arnold Huggler
Born in 1894.
Died in 1988.
Arnold Huggler (Brienz 1894–Zurich 1988), son of the woodcarver Peter Huggler, emerges from the sources as an artist trained in the local tradition of Brienz before extending his practice to the Parisian context.
His training combined an artisanal apprenticeship with academic study: he attended the Schnitzlerschule in Brienz (c. 1909–1914), then the Académie Julian in Paris from 1919 to 1922. During this period, he is mentioned as a master pupil of Henri Bouchard and Paul Landowski (1922).
Settled in Paris, he opened his own studio in 1923 and produced bronzes bearing recurring inscriptions (signature and edition numbering), as well as various foundry marks. Surviving examples bear stamps such as « Cire Perdue Siot », « Cera Persa Brotal Mendrisio » or « Cire perdue Paris Robecchi ».
Examples offered for sale attest to limited editions (e.g. « Junges Eseli », signed and numbered 1/10) and works dated in the studio (e.g. « Otter », 1952, signed and dated).
Alongside these editions, Huggler created public works in Switzerland, some of which are documented by key dates: a bronze bust of Gotthelf (Rosengarten, Bern, 1933), a stone relief « Artillerie » in Wangen an der Aare (1934), the bronze sculpture known as « Schaffhauser Bock » for the entrance to the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen (1938), and two young lions in Jurassic marble for the Landenberg-Anlage in Zurich (1942).
Several of his bronzes are also held in museum or private collections: a bronze « Bär » (36 cm) is held by the Kunstmuseum Bern (year 1921 cited), while other known examples come from private collections and auctions (e.g. provenance: Sammlung Dr. Emil Kern).
The reference bibliography lists a monograph by Gubert Griot, Arnold Huggler: Skulpturen (Zurich, 1954), while biographical records indicate that his final resting place is Enzenbühl Cemetery in Zurich.
These sources provide a basis for comparing catalogue data and studio editions, particularly when dating bronzes and identifying foundry marks.
To identify an individual cast, signature, numbering, foundry mark and documented provenance should be cross-checked, given the variations observed among known works.
