Viktor Surbek was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 painter from Berne

Berne

The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...

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After studies in Italy, Germany (Kunstgewerbeschule

Kunstgewerbeschule

A Kunstgewerbeschule was the old name for an advanced school of applied arts in German-speaking countries. The first such schools were opened in Kassel in 1867 and Berlin and Munich in 1868 with other German towns following. They are now merged into universities....

 München, Kunstgewerbeschule Karlsruhe) and Paris (Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...

), he married fellow painter Marguerite Frey in 1914 and operated a painting school with her up until 1931. Surbek travelled widely and displayed his works at numerous expositions after 1905. In 1964, he and his wife set up a foundation to care for his works and archives in Spiez

Spiez

Spiez is a city in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Spiez has an area of . Of this area, 38.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.1% is forested...

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Much influenced by Hodler

Ferdinand Hodler

Ferdinand Hodler was one of the best-known Swiss painters of the 19th century.-Life:Hodler was born in Berne, the eldest of six children. His father, Jean Hodler, made a meager living as a carpenter; his mother, Marguerite , was from a peasant family...

, Surbek was a typical representative of Swiss figurative art

Figurative art

Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...

. His very extensive work includes mainly landscapes, but also detail studies, portraits and still lifes.