Hans Christoph

Museum Tucherschloss und Hirsvogelsaal, HI Pl 002
Portrait head of Dr. Hans Christoph Freiherr von Tucher (1904-1968)

In the 20th century, the lawyer Hans Christoph von Tucher was one of the most important members of the former patrician family. From 1951 to 1968 he was a member of the Bayerische Vereinsbank Executive Board in Munich and had great influence as a bank manager and member of the supervisory boards of numerous commercial enterprises. In 1964 he succeeded his friend Theodor Heuss as chairman of the board of directors of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

Baron Tucher also rendered services to the history of the city of Nuremberg: shortly before the bombing of the old town in January 1945, he had succeeded in salvaging the works of art from Tucherschloss there. From 1949 onwards, he tirelessly pushed for the badly damaged castle to be rescued. In the end, the reconstruction of the patrician castle is mainly due to his personal commitment. The prudent builder did not live to see the inauguration at the end of October 1968. He had died unexpectedly at the age of 63 on 11 August in London.

The portrait head of Hans Christoph von Tucher dates from the time of the Tucherschloss reconstruction. The award-winning artist Josef Henselmann was then head of the sculpture class at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and was considered a renowned specialist for portraits. In the case of the banker’s bronze head too, he succeeded in impressively rendering the physiognomy of the 60-year-old with his characteristic moustache so it is instantly recognisable, despite everything being reduced to the essential.

Ulrike Berninger