Obwaldner Landsgemeinde

In 1907 Welti was asked to paint the front wall of the Hall of the Council of States in the new Federal Palace in Bern; after much hesitation he accepted on condition that Wilhelm Balmer would assist in the execution. The 1:10 design was approved in December 1909 (Gloor 1987, colour plate 39); after studies in Obwalden, work began on the present 1:2 cartoons in the summer of 1910. Welti's illness brought the work to a standstill; at his death the first three were finished; the remaining two and the frescoes were executed by Balmer, closely following Welti's designs (see Adolf Frey (ed.): Briefe Albert Weltis, 2 Bde. (Zurich 1916, 1920), vol. II, pp. 246-263 passim). Source