Jakob Weder
Born in 1906.
Died in 1990.
According to the sources consulted, Jakob Weder is characterised by a dual methodological concern: the development of a quasi-mathematical system of colour and the exploration of correspondences between sounds and visual forms—two orientations that structure his practice and his technical writings.
Trained in applied arts in St Gallen and subsequently at the teacher-training college in Rorschach, he went on to study sculpture at the Accademia di Brera in Milan, where his academic stay continued until 1932.
Alongside his teaching, Weder developed a theory of colour inspired by Wilhelm Ostwald and, from 1950 onwards, contributed to colour standardisation by producing a colour chart for the company Landolt AG in Zofingen.
During the period 1955–1965, he disseminated these findings through a series of lectures on colour and its standardisation in the field of construction, delivered at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and at several engineering schools in Burgdorf, Lucerne and Winterthur.
With regard to his artistic practice, the sources document sculptural activity until the 1950s, followed by a turn towards painting from 1960 onwards—an indication of an evolution in materials and means of expression rather than a withdrawal from formal engagement.
