Who was Hansi?

Hansi, Ambassador of Alsatian Folk Traditions

Jean-Jacques Waltz, alias Hansi or Uncle Hansi, was born in Colmar in 1873. Illustrator, caricaturist and watercolourist, Hansi is the most beloved visual artist of Alsace. The youngest of four children born to Jacques André Waltz and Rosalie Clémence Dunan, he received from his father, the curator of the Unterlinden Museum, an early passion for history, art and Alsatian traditions that would mark his entire body of work.

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Hansi Postcard

Hansi Postcard Poster Alsace Wine Fair 1948

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Hansi Postcard

Postcard Hansi House of Kaysersberg in bloom

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Hansi Postcard

Postcard Hansi in the House of Colmar Martin Schongauer

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Biography of Hansi

Jean-Jacques Waltz, better known as Hansi or Uncle Hansi, was born on 23 February 1873 in Colmar, Alsace, which had been German since the annexation of 1871. He grew up immersed in Alsatian history and art, instilled by his father, the curator of the Unterlinden Museum.

At the age of 10, Jean-Jacques Waltz was enrolled at the Reichsland school, where he quickly stood out for his critical spirit, rebellious character and above all his extraordinary drawing talent. In 1894, he left Alsace to train as an industrial draughtsman in Lyon, where he also attended the School of Fine Arts. On returning to Alsace, he practised this trade in Cernay and then in Logelbach.

It was during this period that Jean-Jacques Waltz drew the first of his famous Postcards, in which idealised Alsatian villages and anti-German caricatures blend harmoniously. He signed them with the pseudonym Hansi, a contraction of Hans and Iakob. These works met with immediate success and made him a figure of cultural resistance against the German occupiers.

Many collections of anti-German caricatures followed, including the famous Professor Knatschke. The development of his satire earned him several convictions before German courts, which only amplified his popularity in Alsace and France.

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Hansi Postcard

Hansi Postcard Poster Alsace Wine Fair 1948

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Postcard Hansi House of Kaysersberg in bloom

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Postcard Hansi in the House of Colmar Martin Schongauer

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In 1914, Hansi enlisted in the French army during the First World War. After the Armistice and the return of Alsace to France in 1918, he produced numerous illustrations of liberated Alsace, published as Postcards and illustrated Books.

Following his father's death in 1923, Hansi succeeded him as curator of the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar. In 1939, known for his strongly anti-German stance, he was forced into exile in France and then Switzerland. After the Liberation, he returned to Colmar, where he died on 10 June 1951, leaving behind a remarkable artistic and cultural legacy.

Hansi's Legacy

Hansi's work remains intimately linked to Alsatian identity. His illustrations of flower-filled villages, storks, children in traditional costume and vineyard landscapes have shaped the image of Alsace in the collective French and international imagination. Discover our collection of Postcards, Posters and Calendars inspired by Hansi's universe, from the Colmar Museum collection.