Illustrators Degenerate art
Hans Baluschek, full name Alphons Anton Alexander Hans Ernst Karl Maria Baluschek, was a German painter, graphic artist and writer, representative of the New Materiality style.
Baluschek studied at the Royal Academy of Arts, and in 1900 became a member of the Berlin Secession, a group of artists that also included Ernst Barlach, Max Beckmann, and Wassily Kandinsky. Baluschek was always socially critical, which was reflected in the subjects of his paintings. Many of his paintings are dedicated to the working class of Berlin, he addressed the gray everyday life of Berlin: gray air, gray walls, gray people. Baluschek is often categorized as a German Expressionist because of his emotional style, but his style has something of New Objectivity, Impressionism, and naive painting. He also drew illustrations for the popular children's book Little Peter's Trip to the Moon, and collaborated with periodicals as an illustrator.
World War I instilled patriotic feelings in Baluschek, and he painted a number of subjects on this theme. After the war, he joined the Social Democratic Party and became involved in labor movements. In 1926 he helped establish an artists' relief fund and later became director of the annual Berlin Exhibition. The German Nazis, who came to power in 1933, declared Baluschek a Marxist and a "degenerate artist," suspended him from all positions, and banned him from exhibiting.
Hans Bellmer was a German graphic artist, sculptor, photographic artist, illustrator, and writer who spent most of his life in France.
In the 1930s Bellmer began working on the eroticized image of the deformed doll, contrasting it with the aesthetics of the "classical" body in Hitler's Germany. His graphic and literary explorations focus on the dismemberment and liberation of bodies. Bellmer's surrealist works are violent and provocative: they include puppet sculptures composed of the bodies of nude models, photographs, and prints.
In 1934, 18 photographs of dolls were published in the Parisian surrealist magazine Minotaur, and the Nazi regime declared Bellmer's art degenerate. In 1938, Bellmer emigrated to France.
After the end of the war, the artist continued his work, adding poetry to painting. He also authored illustrations for many works, particularly on erotic themes.
Conrad Felixmüller was a twentieth-century German artist, born Conrad Felix Müller. He is known as a painter, graphic artist, illustrator and printmaker, a representative of the New Materiality movement, who worked in the Expressionist style.
Felixmüller created about 2,500 paintings and graphic drawings, the main motif of which was the human being. The artist considered himself a socially critical expressionist, and his works reflected scenes from everyday life. In the 1930s, many of his works were confiscated by the Nazis as examples of degenerate art and destroyed. As a result of the bombing of Berlin in 1944, Felixmüller lost much of his work.
Rudolf Grossmann (German: Rudolf Grossmann, or Großmann), full name Rudolf Wilhelm Walther Grossmann, was a German painter, draftsman, illustrator and graphic artist.
Born into an artistic family, Grossmann began his education in painting and printmaking at the Düsseldorf Academy before continuing his studies in Paris with Lucien Simon and Pouleroz. Among his best-known works are various portrait drawings of celebrities, notably those published in the satirical periodical Simplicissimus; he was also known for his book illustrations. Grossmann began publishing his prints in 1905, and many major publishers in Germany and France commissioned his work. He later concentrated on figurative works and urban scenes, which showed the influence of Cézanne and Pasquin.
From 1928 until Hitler's Nazi Party came to power, Grossmann taught at the Berlin Royal School of Art and was a member of the Berlin Secession and the Deutsche Kunstlerbund. In 1934, his work, like that of many of his colleagues, was stigmatized as degenerate and confiscated by the Nazi government, and he was disbarred from practicing his profession. He soon left for Freiberg im Beisgau, where he died on November 28, 1941.
Otto Hettner was a German painter, graphic artist, illustrator and sculptor.
Hettner studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe with Robert Petzelberger and at the Académie Julian in Paris, then lived in Florence for a year and studied again, this time at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. In 1916 he became a member of the executive committee of the Free Secession, and the following year he became director and professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, where he worked until 1927.
Otto Hettner illustrated various books for well-known publishing houses. After the artist's death, the Nazis, who came to power in Germany, considered Hettner's works degenerate, and in 1937, as part of the campaign "Degenerate Art" 15 of his works were confiscated from museums.
Ludwig von Hofmann is a German painter, graphic artist and designer. The influence of Historicism, Art Nouveau, Symbolism and New Realism can be felt in the works of Ludwig von Hofmann at different periods of his art.
Ludwig von Hoffmann studied painting at the academies of fine arts in Dresden, Karlsruhe and Munich. Since 1898 he was a member of the cultural movement Berlin Secession.
After the National Socialists came to power in Germany, some of his works were classified as degenerate art, but most of them continued to be exhibited in museums in Germany.
Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc, a pivotal figure in German Expressionism, remains celebrated for his innovative contributions to 20th-century art. Born in Munich, Bavaria, within the German Empire on February 8, 1880, Marc's journey into the art world was profoundly influenced by his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His distinct artistic vision is most famously encapsulated in works like "The Tower of Blue Horses", "Yellow Cow", and "Blue Horse I", each radiating with vibrant colors and emotional depth. Marc's affiliation with Der Blaue Reiter, a journal he co-founded, underscored his role in the German Expressionist movement, emphasizing the spiritual and symbolic significance of color in art.
Marc's oeuvre predominantly features animals, presented not merely as subjects but as embodiments of primal purity and emotional resonance. This choice of subject matter, combined with a stark, almost cubist portrayal, allowed Marc to explore themes of spirituality, masculinity (often symbolized by blue), and the tumultuous essence of life itself. His work "Fate of the Animals", which hangs in the Kunstmuseum Basel, exemplifies this thematic exploration, portraying a premonition of chaos and destruction that eerily anticipated the outbreak of World War I.
Tragically, Marc's promising career was cut short by his death at the Battle of Verdun on March 4, 1916, during World War I, where he served in the German Army. Despite his premature demise, Marc's legacy endures through his profound impact on modern art, as seen in his vibrant compositions that continue to captivate audiences in galleries and museums worldwide. His artworks, once labeled as "degenerate" by the Nazis, have transcended this vilification, achieving acclaim and fetching high sums at auction, with "Die Füchse (The Foxes)" reaching a record £42,654,500.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Marc's work represents not only a high point in German Expressionism but also a window into the artist's profound belief in the spiritual power of color and form. His legacy is a testament to the enduring allure and significance of early 20th-century modern art. To stay updated on sales and auction events related to Franz Marc's work, signing up for updates offers a direct link to the vibrant legacy of this remarkable artist.
Adolf Schinnerer was a German painter, draughtsman and graphic artist.
He studied at the Art Academy in Karlsruhe and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and in 1920 took a position as professor of art at the Kunstgewererbeschule in Munich. In Munich, Schinnerer also became one of the founders of the New Secession in 1913. Initially in his works Schinnerer proceeded from the style of French Impressionism, creating mainly figurative paintings and landscapes, later moving to an expressive style of depiction. In the early twentieth century, his prints and paintings were widely exhibited in Italy, France, Austria and Germany.
As a master of dry etching, Schinnerer was an extremely prolific artist, producing hundreds of images and prints; he also executed many illustrations, among them the 1921 edition of William Shakespeare's The Tempest.
In 1937, Schinnerer's graphics were withdrawn from a number of museums and public collections as part of the Nazi "Degenerate Art" campaign. Nevertheless, after the war, the artist regained his reputation: Adolf Schinnerer was a member of the German Artists' Association, participated in the re-establishment of the Union of Original Prints, and the Friends of the Munich State Graphic Collection.
