Cristina Gutbrod

Cristina Gutbrod

Cristina Gutbrod is a freelance architectural historian and cultural mediator at the National Museum Zurich.

Creative connections: Bossard, Gull and the Swiss National Museum

Cristina Gutbrod 28.01.2025 In 1898, the architect Gustav Gull (1858-1942) created designs for two cups as part of a collaboration with the goldsmith’s workshop run by Johann Karl Bossard (1846-1914) in Lucerne. That same year, the newly built Swiss National Museum in Zurich, also designed by Gull, opened its doors to the public. Gull and Bossard’s impressive networks of contacts came together in the planning and design of the museum.
Johann Karl Bossard (centre left) and Gustav Gull (centre right) were part of an impressive network spanning Zurich und Lucerne. Members included painter Rudolf Koller (top left), art historian Josef Zemp (top centre), Swiss National Museum director Heinrich Angst (top right), art historian Johann Rudolf Rahn (bottom left) and architect Julius Stadler (bottom right).

Gull’s big break

Cristina Gutbrod 30.05.2023 Gustav Gull’s design for the Swiss National Museum in the late 19th century marked the start of his rise to become a star architect.
Gustav Gull’s design for the Swiss National Museum in Zurich’s application to host the museum, 1890.