Erwin Merlet

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Erwin Merlet's self-portrait in front of the Sella towers

Erwin Merlet (actually Alexander Erwin Merlet , born December 8, 1886 in Vienna , † June 24, 1939 in Bozen ) was an Austrian alpinist , painter and graphic artist.

Life

Erwin Merlet was born in Vienna- Währing in 1886 and moved to Meran with his mother at the age of eight . Here he also attended the Marienberg Abbey high school until 1905 . He completed his medical studies in Innsbruck , which his mother insisted , completed in 1912. After his military year, which he spent as an assistant doctor in Klagenfurt , he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1913 . During his studies he joined the Corps Gothia , of which he belonged until his death. Here he earned a reputation as a good athlete, among other things as a rower and boxer, but above all as an excellent skier. From 1914 to 1915 Merlet took part in the First World War in Serbia , from 1916 to 1918 he served in Val Gardena as a doctor and mountain guide instructor . After the war he lived as a freelance artist in Bolzano because he could no longer afford to continue his studies. As a painter, however, Merlet failed to achieve the success he had hoped for during his lifetime, and in particular the refusal to participate in the Biennale di Venezia in 1920 was a great disappointment for him. At this time, however, he gained a reputation as an excellent alpinist, who played a particularly important role in the development of the Pala group . In 1925 he opened mountain sports shops in Bolzano and Cortina d'Ampezzo , which, however, were not very successful.

In the following years he devoted himself mainly to commercial graphics, but also exhibited the apologetic fresco design Tempo di Mussolini (The time of Mussolini) at the fascist exhibition of South Tyrolean and Trentino artists in Rome in November 1938 .

Erwin Merlet died in 1939 of complications from typhus and was buried in Fiè allo Sciliar . It was not until 1971 that a memorial exhibition was dedicated to him in Bolzano.

Oil paintings and graphics of the local mountains dominate Merlet's work. Furthermore, he documented his numerous climbing tours in drawings. In addition, he also made frescoes , portraits and numerous commercial graphics, for example for advertising purposes. Among his most important artistic influences was the alpine painter Gustav Jahn , with whom he also undertook numerous mountain tours. He worked with Leo Sebastian Humer and Hans Andre in the artist group "Waage".

In addition to Gustav Jahn, Günter Dyhrenfurth and Gunther Langes were Merlet's best-known mountain partners. In particular with Langes, Merlet gained importance as a developer of the Pala group , the rope team became known above all for the first ascent of the Gran Pilastro at the Pala di San Martino and the veil edge at the Cima della Madonna (1920). In addition, he achieved three first ascents on Sass de Mesdi as well as the first winter ascents of Grohmannspitze , Fünffingerspitze and Zahnkofel in 1918 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Erwin Merlet  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Exhibition catalog Galleria di Roma. Mostra degli artisti altoatesini e tridentini, 12–27 November a. XVII (= 1938), p. 19. - More on the context of the exhibition. Carl Kraus , Hannes Obermair (ed.): Myths of dictatorships. Art in Fascism and National Socialism - Miti delle dittature. Art nel fascismo e nazionalsocialismo . South Tyrolean State Museum for Cultural and State History Castle Tyrol, Dorf Tirol 2019, ISBN 978-88-95523-16-3 , p. 45-49 .
  2. ^ Bepi Pellegrinon: Erwin Merlet . In: Bepi Pellegrinon (ed.): Gunther Langes Schleierkante = Spigolo del Velo . Nuovi Sentieri, Belluno 2000.
  3. ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives: galerie-maier.at )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.galerie-maier.at
  4. ↑ Historical Alpine Archive (PDF; 670 kB), accessed on October 27, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Merlet, Erwin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merlet, Alexander Erwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian alpinist and painter
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1939
Place of death Bolzano