Karl Hänny, painter, printmaker, sculptor, illustrator, and medalist, was born in Twaun, Switzerland on 13 June 1879. Between 1895 and 1899, he studied in the arts and crafts department at the Biel Technical College, where he trained as a steel engraver and medalist. After his training, he lived in Ulm, Vienna, and Munich for two plus years before returning to Bern to study at l'École des Arts et Métiers (Arts and Crafts) in Bern. In 1903, Hänny visited Auguste Rodin in Paris. After the completion of his studies, he worked for a year plus beginning in 1905 in the studio of the sculptor Wilhelm Sauer. In Sauer’s studio, Hänny was able to work independently creating architectural sculptures.

Hänny exhibited at the Salon de Lausanne, the Salon de Bern and salons in St. Gallen and Zurich. He also participated in the Berlin Secession, the Black and White Exhibition (held in Berlin in 1903), and he exhibited at the Munich Glass Palace in 1909 and 1913. In 1917 he organized an exhibition at the Kunsthasu Zurich (now the largest art museum in Switzerland) and he was one of the founders of the Volkshochschule Bern (the Bern Adult Education Association) and he served as its first president.

Hänny worked in woodcut, etching, watercolor, oil, and tempera and he created numerous bookplates. As a sculptor, he preferred to work in cast stone and there are numerous examples of his architectural decorations in Switzerland. His cast stone sculpture of Neptune is in the Rosegarten in Bern. As a medalist, Hänny created around 400 plaques.

Karl Hänny moved to Ligerz in 1950 and that is where he died on 12 April 1972.

(source: Wikipedia)