Erich Gruner (graphic designer)

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Erich Gruner around 1912
The double M as a symbol of the sample fair in Leipzig, created by Erich Gruner, here as an oversized entrance gate on the exhibition grounds (photo from 1983)

Louis Erich Gruner (born November 14, 1881 in Leipzig ; † December 30, 1966 there ) was a German graphic artist , painter , draftsman, illustrator and caricaturist .

Erich Gruner created the Leipziger Messe GmbH logo , which can be found both as an oversized, passable entrance gate at the old trade fair , on the exhibition tower at the entrance to the new exhibition center in the north of Leipzig, and as a striking rotating advertising design on the winter garden tower in Leipzig's city center.

Life

The son of the Leipzig merchant Louis Gruner studied from 1900 to 1905 at the Royal Academy for Graphic Arts and Book Trade in Leipzig and then in Paris , where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts and was a student of Jean-Paul Laurens .

In 1917 (in other sources the year 1920 is mentioned) he created the logo MM for "Mustermesse", two capital letters resting on one another. The abbreviation can still be found today in the Leipziger Messe GmbH logo and on the exhibition tower at the entrance to the exhibition grounds in the north of Leipzig, as well as a striking rotating advertising sign on the winter garden tower in the center of Leipzig.

Postage stamp from Erich Gruner from 1953
Postage stamp from Erich Gruner from 1955

Erich Gruner designed a series of GDR postage stamps on the subject of the Leipzig Fair (1949–1961).

Gruner was significantly involved in the design of the parade for the 500th anniversary of the University of Leipzig , as well as in the artistic design of the International Exhibition for Book Trade and Graphics in 1914 and the International Fur Exhibition in Leipzig in 1930. For the latter, he created 74 furrier coats of arms of all times on "gigantic sails hanging between silver poles from various cities and countries at home and abroad" as well as a 0.80 × 8.80 meter painting, the main picture of the hall.

From January 1, 1931, he was the director of the newly established Leipzig School of Applied Arts , where he introduced stage design as a subject for the first time in Germany . Erich Gruner's graphic oeuvre includes a large number of works in different techniques (etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, linocuts and drawings), mostly grouped thematically in cycles or serial portfolios . After the war-related destruction and final closure of the School of Applied Arts in 1946, he worked as a freelance artist until his death.

Erich Gruner was married to Katharina "Käthe" Gruner (born Katharina Meyer, daughter of a factory owner from Leipzig, resident in Kleinsteinberg) since 1911. The marriage had two children. After Gruner's death, the wife continued his diaries, which lasted for decades (today in the holdings of the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) in Dresden). Erich Gruner's brother was the architect Walter Gruner (1883–1961).

Memberships

estate

Part of his estate is in the German Museum of Books and Writing in the German National Library in Leipzig. His extensive diaries over a period of decades are in the holdings of the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) in Dresden, which they acquired at auction.

Varia

  • Designs by Erich Gruner have come down to us from 1919, showing the Beucha mountain church with an interior painting of the church designed by Gruner. The project was not carried out.
  • The publicist Lutz Heydick paid tribute to Erich Gruner and his work with a picture lecture on September 19, 2019 in the Beucha mountain church .

publication

  • Erich Gruner: Judas . Self-published. Leipzig 1912

literature

Web links

Commons : Erich Gruner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Cathrin Günzel: 100 years of Leipzig double M: ​​The artist was Erich Gruner . November 19, 2016. Last accessed September 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Friedrich Schulze : The artistic equipment of the master hall. In: Otto Lerche (editor): IPA - international fur exhibition, international hunting exhibition Leipzig 1930, official catalog. Leipzig 1930, p. 324.
  3. ↑ kuenstlerbund.de: Full members of the German Association of Artists since it was founded in 1903 / Gruner, Erich ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on November 2, 2016) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kuenstlerbund.de
  4. ↑ Proofs and bequests on book and media culture. Retrieved June 11, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Flyer from Sax-Verlag from 2017 with information on the book "The Leipzig painter Erich Gruner - His Kleinsteinberger Summer and Pictures" by Lutz Heydick
  6. ↑ "Brandiser Talks - on September 19 in Beucha: The Beuchaer Bergkirche and the Leipzig-Kleinsteinberger painter Erich Gruner - a Leipzig artist of the century took it to Kleinsteinberg in 1910 , where he made his home and created designs for the Bergkirche, the implementation of which was still more rewarding Support ultimately fails because of inflation. His sketches for the altar square and triumphal arch have been preserved, as are many of his Kleinsteinberg oil paintings, as well as the artist's handwritten diaries for decades, as recent archive finds have shown. In Lutz Heydick's picture lecture, this forgotten painting project, its creator and an unknown chapter of local history are presented. ” Source: http://www.stadtkirche-brandis.de/main.php?id=16 - accessed on September 19, 2019
  7. ↑ http://d-nb.info/1143856880 - accessed on September 19, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Gruner, Erich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gruner, Louis Erich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German graphic artist, painter, draftsman, illustrator and caricaturist
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH December 30, 1966
Place of death Leipzig