Ernst Frommhold (painter)

Ernst Frommhold (born November 17, 1879 in Leipzig ; † June 24, 1955 there ) was a well-known German landscape and marine painter .

Ernst Frommhold came from a peasant family who lived in the Leipzig area. After attending school, he was not allowed to study painting at the Leipzig Art Academy according to his inclination , but had to complete an apprenticeship as a businessman and eventually set up his own business in this branch. In the meantime, he continues the artistic activity to which he has dedicated himself since childhood. Numerous study trips took him to Italy , Switzerland and twice with a steamboat across the North Sea to the Icelandic coast.

After the inflation as a result of the First World War , he gave up his business and now lived exclusively from painting. In order to gain the necessary professional recognition for this, he planned to study at the academy in Leipzig. There, however, he is said to have received the hint from Professor Hey that he could not convey anything new to him and that Frommhold should just continue as before. In 1951 the artist moved to Karlsruhe, where he was particularly inspired by the neighboring Black Forest in his final years . After just surviving a heart condition, he died unexpectedly in 1955.

Frommhold remained attached to traditional compositions and themes and was not influenced by the expressionist movements at the beginning of the 20th century. With a fleeting brushstroke , Frommhold reproduced both his native landscape and the landscapes he had seen on his travels. The hilly landscapes of Central Germany and forest motifs from the Taunus formed a focus . His harvest pictures also found recognition and dissemination. His works include, for example, "Summer low mountain range", "Harvest landscape with wheat sheaves", "Spring in the Berchtesgadener Land with the small and large Watzmann ", "Sunny forest path", "Path into the valley". His most famous work is "Wind Force 10". Most of his works and numerous reproductions are in private hands.

literature

• Frommhold, Ernst . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 2 : E-J . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1955, p. 169 .
• A. St .: The painter Ernst Frommhold. In: The art trade. The specialist magazine for art dealers and framers , Volume 47, 1955, Number 2, p. 19 (Short biography for the 75th birthday).
• EB: Ernst Frommhold. November 17, 1879 - June 24, 1955. In: The art trade. The specialist magazine for art dealers and framers , Volume 47, 1955, Number 9, p. 14 (obituary).