Messeball

Burkhard Mangold prints bring the early days of the Swiss poster into your home. A painter, lithographer and stained-glass artist from Basel, Mangold helped turn the advertising poster into an art form in the years before and after 1910. His bold, decorative designs for Davos winter sports, Swiss exhibitions and local businesses still feel fresh today. This collection gathers fine art prints of his posters for anyone who loves vintage travel and graphic design.

About Burkhard Mangold

Burkhard Mangold was born in Basel, Switzerland, on 10 September 1873, and died there on 17 October 1950. As a schoolboy he took art classes at Basel's Allgemeine Gewerbeschule under Fritz Schider, then trained as a decorative painter in the city from 1890 to 1893.

In 1893 he travelled to Paris, where he studied the work of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and admired the decorative painter Pierre-Victor Galland. From 1894 to 1900 he lived in Munich, attending Friedrich Fehr's private school and earning a living as a decorative painter. After a study trip to Italy, he set up his own studio back in Basel around 1900.

From 1905 Mangold worked with the Wolfensberger printing house in Zurich, and that same year his design for a national singing festival in Zurich won a prize. Over the next decades he produced posters for tourism, fashion, beer, cars and exhibitions, alongside stained-glass windows, painted facades and book illustrations. He taught lithography and glass painting in Basel from 1915 to 1918, and the young Niklaus Stoecklin was briefly his student.

Mangold also served on the Swiss Federal Art Commission from 1909 to 1911 and was its president in 1909–1910. In 2023, for what would have been his 150th birthday, a monograph titled "Burkhard Mangold – Ein Basler Künstlerleben" was published in Basel.

Style and Subjects

Mangold is remembered as a pioneer of modern artistic poster lithography in Switzerland. Many of his posters are directly shaped by his work as a stained-glass artist, and they draw on Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession as well as classical and medieval art.

His subjects are varied. Look for ice skating and winter health stays in Davos, Basel exhibitions and trade fairs, and cheerful advertising for menswear, beer, cafés and hotels. Many pieces have a festive, civic spirit, which fits a man who also designed costumes and decorations for Basel's great public celebrations.

Famous Works

• Swiss Domestic Arts Exhibition (Schweizerische Heimarbeit-Ausstellung) (1909), Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, Illinois. A large lithograph poster for an exhibition of Swiss home crafts.
• PKZ poster for Burger-Kehl & Co (1909), original posters in private and dealer collections. One of his advertising posters for the Swiss menswear brand PKZ.
• Jubilee Exhibition for Bakery and Confectionery, Basel (1910), original posters in private and dealer collections. A large Art Nouveau poster for a Basel trade fair.
• Winter in Davos (1914), original posters in private and dealer collections. One of Mangold's best-known winter sports posters for the Alpine resort.
• Eislauf (Ice Skating) (1916), Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. A lithograph tourism poster made for the Davos tourist association.
• Winterkuren (Winter Cures) (1916), Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. A companion Davos poster promoting winter health stays in the mountains.
• Stained-glass windows, Leonhardskirche (1919–1921), Basel. Church windows that show the other half of his career, as a glass painter.

Decorating with Mangold Prints

Mangold's Davos posters, with their ice skating and winter holiday themes, suit a hallway, a home office or a living room with a relaxed, outdoorsy feel. They also make a natural choice for a chalet or cabin, or for anyone who loves skiing and Swiss travel.

His advertising and exhibition posters work well in kitchens, dining areas and cafés, especially designs for bakeries, beer and tea rooms. Hung in a pair or a small group, his posters create a vintage gallery wall that sits comfortably with mid-century or Art Nouveau-inspired interiors.

FAQ

What art movement was Burkhard Mangold part of?

Mangold belongs to the early Swiss poster movement of the early 20th century, and his designs show the influence of Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession. He is counted among the pioneers of the Swiss artistic poster, alongside Emil Cardinaux, Eduard Stiefel and Otto Baumberger.

What is Burkhard Mangold's most famous work?

He is best known for his winter sports posters for Davos, such as Winter in Davos (1914) and Eislauf (Ice Skating) from 1916. His advertising posters for the menswear brand PKZ are also well known.

Where can I see Burkhard Mangold's original works?

The Museum für Gestaltung Zürich holds his Davos posters in its poster collection, and the Krannert Art Museum in Illinois holds his 1909 exhibition poster. In Basel you can still see his stained-glass windows in the Leonhardskirche and his painted facade "Zum Wolf" at Spalenberg 22.

What makes Mangold's style recognizable?

Look for a decorative, Art Nouveau-influenced design shaped by his experience as a stained-glass artist, with nods to classical and medieval art. His subjects range from Alpine sport to Basel festivals and everyday products.

Was Burkhard Mangold only a poster artist?

No. He was also a painter, stained-glass artist, muralist and book illustrator. He painted facades across Basel, designed church windows, and illustrated a 1945 edition of the Book of Sirach with 20 woodcuts.

Related Artists

• Emil Cardinaux — fellow pioneer of the Swiss artistic poster
• Otto Baumberger — Swiss poster designer of the same generation
• Eduard Stiefel — fellow early Swiss poster artist
• Niklaus Stoecklin — Basel painter and poster artist who briefly studied with Mangold
• Pierre Puvis de Chavannes — French painter Mangold studied in Paris in 1893