Artists from Liechtenstein - Prince Hans

Prince Johannes Franz von Liechtenstein (1910-1975), known as Prince Hans, was the cousin of Prince Franz Josef II (1906-1989) of Liechtenstein. He was born in Vienna as the third son of Prince Johannes von Liechtenstein and Princess Marizza, née Countess Andrassy. He studied art in Budapest and later with the internationally eminent painter of animals, Professor Carl Fahringer in Vienna. Towards the end of the Second World War, he fled to Vaduz with his family.

Prince Hans’ life was inextricably bound up in his three passions: hunting, art and natural history. He built up a collection of everything he hunted, described it in scientific terms and captured much of it in artistic form. He frequently portrayed people and animals he encountered, capturing them perfectly on paper with just a few strokes of the pen.

The result was a wealth of colourful pictures, deftly done sketches, watercolours and clay sculptures, of which more than 2000 drawings and watercolours still exist. A deep affinity with nature is evident in his intricate works. Two motifs are featured in the new special stamps "Elephant" (face value: CHF 2.60) and "Zebra Herd" (face value: CHF 4.30) in relief embossing.