Lydia Welti-Escher
Lydia Welti-Escher | |
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Gottfried Keller Stiftung Plaque by the Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster at the Kunsthaus Zürich museum Lydia Welti-Escher Hof square in Zürich | |
Nationality | Swiss |
Other names | Lydia Escher |
Years active | 1874–1891 |
Known for | Swiss Maecenas |
Notable work | Gottfried Keller Foundation |
Spouse | Friedrich Emil Welti |
Partner | Karl Stauffer-Bern |
Lydia Welti Escher, (née Lydia Escher, 10 July 1858 in
Life
Origins and family
Lydia Escher was born into the Escher vom Glas family, an old and influential Zürich family dynasty. She was the daughter of Augusta Escher-Uebel (1838–1864) and
Childhood and youth
Lydia Escher's grandfather Heinrich Escher had built the country house
Lydia Escher's youth differed substantially from those of other young women of Zürich of bourgeois origin: Lydia conducted her father's correspondence, ran the household in the Belvoir estate, and she grew into the role of the hostess and entertainer of the numerous guests of Alfred Escher, among them the Swiss poet
In addition to personal attacks from political opponents, Lydia's father faced serious health problems. He suffered repeated bouts of ill health throughout his life and on many occasions was obliged to spend long periods in convalescence. During the critical phase of the
Marriage with Friedrich Emil Welti
Because the relationship between Alfred Escher and his former protege Emil Welti had deteriorated before, Escher was against Lydia's engagement with Welti's son Friedrich Emil. Since the engagement had already been published, Lydia married after her father's death on 4 January 1883.
Liaison with Karl Stauffer-Bern
Lydia and Stauffer fell in love, and Lydia told to Stauffer's mother to marry him. In 1888, still under the sponsorship of his patrons, the Welti-Escher family, Karl Stauffer-Bern went to Rome to study sculpture. While there, the liaison of Lydia Welti-Escher with him became public knowledge,[5] the Welti family was outraged, and Lydia and Karl escaped to Rome.[2] Even the divorce from her husband was proposed, but Welti contacted the Swiss Embassy in Rome and used his considerable influence to separate them. Lydia was placed in a public insane asylum in Rome, and Stauffer-Bern was jailed after being charged with kidnapping and rape.[6] While staying there, Lydia posted the feminist (emancipatory) publication Gedanken einer Frau (literally: Thoughts of a woman) and planned to publish it. The document is still disappeared,[2] as well as the majority of Lydia Escher's comprehensive correspondency was probably destroyed during this time. It is significant that still an important part of the Welti family archives is not accessible to researchers and historians.[2]
In May 1890, a full psychiatric report showed no sign of mental illness and Lydia Welti-Escher was released. She returned to her husband, although she soon filed for a divorce, which was eventually granted. In a state of despondency over the loss of his love, Karl Stauffer-Bern suffered a nervous breakdown, spent some time in the San Bonifazio mental hospital, and after his release, he attempted suicide by gun.[5] In January 1891, unable to work and apparently suffering from persecution mania, he committed suicide.[6]
Stigmatization and suicide
After four months of internment in the public psychiatric hospital in Rome,
It was controversial discussed, whether according to Josef Jung's biography, Lydia had been examined after her detention in the psychiatric clinic in Rome, and upon returning to Switzerland (again) in the
Selected portraits
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Lydia's Mother Augusta Escher (around 1850)
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Lydia Welti-Escher, portrait by Karl Stauffer-Bern (date unknown)
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Friedrich Emil Welti, photograph (artist and date unknown)
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Karl Stauffer-Bern, self-portrait (date unknown)
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Gottfried Keller, portrait by Karl Stauffer (1886)
Gottfried Keller Foundation
In 1890, shortly before the end of her tragic life, Lydia Escher invested the Escher family's fortune in a foundation, which she called the
Aftermath and monuments
The Gottfried Keller foundation, as of today is based in Winterthur, and it is listed as a
Lydia Escher is considered an outstanding woman of the Belle Époque in Switzerland, she blew up close social and moral standards of existence by their liaison with an artist, to which she open stood; and, on the other hand, Lydia Escher's historic achievement is in the creation of a Swiss art foundation of national importance. Lydia Escher, as a prominent patron of the arts, was honored by the Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster association on the occasion of her 150th anniversary by a commemorative plaque, located at a spot in front of the Kunsthaus Zürich.[2]
The place was baptized on 20 August 2008 by the city of Zürich as Lydia Welti-Escher Hof.[11][12][13][14]
In television and theater
- 2014: Die letzten Stunden der Lydia Welti-Escher. Play after Christine Ahlborn.[15]
- 2013: Die Schweizer: Kampf um den Gotthard – Alfred Escher und Stefano Franscini. Television documentary play produced by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF)[16]
Literature
- Willi Wottreng: Lydia Welti-Escher. Eine Frau in der Belle Epoque. Elster-Verlag, Zürich 2014, ISBN 978-3-906065-22-9.
- Joseph Jung: Lydia Welti-Escher (1858–1891). Mit einer Einführung von Hildegard Elisabeth Keller. ISBN 978-3-03823-852-2.
- Joseph Jung: Lydia Welti-Escher (1858–1891). Biographie. Quellen, Materialien und Beiträge. NZZ Libro, Zürich 2009, ISBN 978-3-03823-557-6.
- Willi Wottreng: Die Millionärin und der Maler: Die Tragödie Lydia Welti-Escher und Karl Stauffer-Bern. Orell Füssli, Zürich 2008, ISBN 978-3-280-06049-0.
- Hanspeter Landolt: Gottfried Keller-Stiftung. Sammeln für die Schweizer Museen. 1890–1990. 100 Jahre Gottfried Keller-Stiftung. Benteli, Bern 1990, ISBN 978-3716506967.
- Bernhard von Arx: Der Fall Stauffer. Chronik eines Skandals. Hallwag, Bern 1969, ISBN 3-7296-0408-2.
- ISBN 978-3-257-07012-5.[17]
- Hildegard Elisabeth Keller: Lydias Fest. Edition Maulhelden, Zürich 2019, ISBN 978-3-907248-00-3.
References
- ^ Jung: Alfred Escher. 2009, pp. 464–492; Jung: Lydia Welti-Escher, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Ehrung der Kunstmäzenin Lydia Welti-Escher (press release)" (PDF) (in German). Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ a b Anna Katharina Bähler (11 October 2013). "Welti [-Escher], Lydia". HDS. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ Luzius Winkler (October 2004). "Der Belvoirpark" (in German). HEV 10/2004. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Karl Stauffer-Bern". spartacus-educational.com. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ a b Paul Schlenther (1893). Stauffer, Karl. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). ADB. p. 527. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ Jung: Lydia Welti-Escher. 2009, p. 146 (Psychiatrisches Gutachten); Wottreng: Die Millionärin und der Maler, p. 146; Von Arx: Der Fall Stauffer, p. 269.
- ^ Daniel Hell: Das Gutachten aus heutiger Sicht, in: Jung: Lydia Welti-Escher. 2009, p. 359.
- ^ Jung: Lydia Welti-Escher. 2009, p. 163; von Arx: Der Fall Stauffer, p. 275.
- ^ "A-Objekte KGS-Inventar". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ Stadtrat von Zürich (20 August 2008). "Strassenbenennungskommission; Benennung von "Lydia-Welti-Escher-Hof" (press release)" (in German). Stadt Zürich. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "Der Lydia-Welti-Escher-Hof" (in German). Gang dur Alt-Züri. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "Frauenehrungen" (in German). Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Frauenehrungen der Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster" (PDF) (in German). Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Eine Frau erstickt an den Zwängen ihrer Umwelt" (in German). Badische Zeitung. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ "Die Schweizer: Kampf um den Gotthard – Alfred Escher und Stefano Franscini" (in German). Swiss television SRF. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "Lukas Hartmann Bücher" (in German). Ex Libris (bookshop). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
External links
- Anna Katharina Bähler: Welti [-Escher], Lydia in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 11 October 2013.
- Literature by and about Lydia Welti-Escher in the German National Library catalogue
- Gottfried Keller Stiftung, Bundesamt für Kultur (in German)
- Lydia Welti-Escher on the website of the Swiss Archives (Bundesarchiv) (in German)
- Lydia Welti-Escher in the German National Library catalogue
- Digital edition of Alfred Escher's correspondence (in German)
- Lydia Escher on the website of the Swiss television SRF (in German)