Famous and Yet Unknown – the Waltensburg Master

Some artists from Graubünden not only left behind an impressive body of work, but also remain vivid personalities to this day. Giovanni Segantini, for instance, the great innovator of Alpine painting, is a striking figure in photographs and self-portraits; tall, bearded with a clear, almost piercing gaze. And when the name of the famous Val Bregaglia-born sculptor Alberto Giacometti is mentioned, you likely imagine a melancholy, dreamy face beneath thick, frizzy hair in your mind’s eye.

This is not the case with the Waltensburg Master. Around the mid-14th century, this artist created impressive works in the form of murals, which can still be seen in various churches and chapels across what is now Graubünden – in places like Rhäzüns, Lüen, Casti, Dusch above Paspels, and Churwalden. Yet, virtually nothing is known about who he was or what he looked like. We don't even know his name.

The unknown artist known as the Waltensburg Master has been named after one of his most important works, a Passion cycle painted on the walls of the reformed church in Waltensburg. Additionally, a museum located directly opposite the church provides insight into the painter’s era and his outstanding works in the Gothic style.