Rudolf Koller
Early Life and Artistic Beginnings
Rudolf Koller, born in Zürich on May 21st, 1828, emerged from a world steeped in the everyday rhythms of rural life. His father, Johann Heinrich Koller, initially a butcher and brewer, later became the innkeeper of the “Schwarzen Adler” hotel—a central hub frequented by waggoners and cattle dealers. This formative environment indelibly shaped the young artist’s sensibility, immersing him in the sights
and sounds of horses and livestock from an early age. While his peers might have been drawn to more conventional subjects, Koller found himself captivated by the raw beauty and inherent dignity of these animals. His initial education at a private school was followed by attendance at Fraumünster elementary school, but it was within the bustling atmosphere of his father’s inn that his artistic inclinations truly began to blossom.
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