The Waterman

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The artists' association Der Wassermann was founded on January 8, 1919 in the Hotel Bristol in Salzburg . The club name probably goes back to the astrologically influenced writer Oskar AH Schmitz ; it refers to the founding month and the astronomical position of Salzburg, which is described with the terms tolerance, transparency, departure, dynamism or revolt. In Aquarius , painters and writers met; It was the association of young artists who - like other artist groups ( Hagenbund , Secession , Neukunstgruppe , Nötscher Kreis ) - protested against the established Viennese art industry and sought a fresh start in the provinces.

The founders of Aquarius were Felix Albrecht Harta , Anton Faistauer and Oskar Rudolf Vonwiller , and Harta became its first president. Other members included Oskar AH Schmitz , Alois Grasmayer (a wealthy hotel owner in Salzburg, teacher, writer and Faust researcher), Aloys Wach and Egon Wertheimer ; and Stefan Zweig , Friderike branch and Bernhard Paumgartner were close to the Aquarius. The membership list comprised 106 people, in addition to painters, writers (e.g. Hans von Hammerstein-Equord ) and musicians were represented. The Wassermann artists' association , which saw itself as revolutionary, planned to found an academy in Salzburg in which, alongside the study of nature, the study of old masters should be the most important branch of instruction; but this project failed due to the lack of approval from the Vienna Ministry.

In August 1919 the first exhibition under the name Wassermann took place in the Salzburger Künstlerhaus. I.a. also Frans Masereel , Robin Christian Andersen and Maria Caspar-Filser participated in the exhibition. It is worth mentioning the negative attitude of the City of Salzburg to the exhibition, as the lack of food means that foreign visitors cannot be catered for. 1921 was the last Aquarius exhibition, the International Black and White Exhibition . Artists such as Karl Rössing , Ernst Barlach , George Grosz , Alfred Kubin and Käthe Kollwitz were there .

In 1924 Harta moved his field of activity back to Vienna, his successor Faistauer did not act very happily in the function of President and the painting guild could not keep up with the development of the Salzburg Festival . Or, as Ludwig Praehauser put it in the Salzburger Volksblatt on July 2, 1921 : "The tidal wave, coming from outside, ebbed on the 'spiritual soil' of Salzburg, which is insensitive to art problems."

The Salzburger Kunstverein organized a first commemorative exhibition on Aquarius in 1969 for the 50th anniversary. When choosing images , however, one was guided only by the names of the artists and not by their works, which were created during the time of the Wassenmann . In addition, this exhibition was "pimped up" by works by artists who had nothing to do with Aquarius ( Lovis Corinth , Hans Thoma ). An exhibition in keeping with the tradition of Aquarius was organized by the Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum in 1994 for the 75th year of commemoration . The works of around 60 artists who were closely connected with Aquarius and who were also created around 1919 were brought together here.

literature

  • Gert Kerschbaumer : Stefan Zweig - The flying Salzburg man. Residence, Salzburg 2003, ISBN 3-7017-1336-7 .
  • Nikolaus Schaffer: A short flight of highs and a slow stranding. Oppositions within the art association: "Wassermann" and "Sonderbund" . In: 150 Years of the Salzburger Kunstverein (Ed.), Art and the Public 1844-1994. Salzburg 1994, pp. 115-144.
  • The Waterman. 125 years of the Salzburg Art Association. Salzburg 1969.
  • Wassermann AG., Galerie Würthle, Künstlerhaus Salzburg (ed.): Catalog of the international black and white exhibition, organized by the artists' association "Der Wassermann" in Salzburg in association with Würthle & Son Nachf. From August 19 to October 3, 1921 im Salzburg artist house. Salzburg, Authors Verlag Rikola, 1921.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nikolaus Schaffer: Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum. 75 years "Wassermann" - painting in Salzburg 1919. In: 150 years Salzburger Kunstverein (publisher), art and the public 1844-1994. Salzburg 1994, pp. 265-272.