Felix Mehlhorn

Felix Mehlhorn (* 1891 ; † December 19, 1977 in Olbernhau ) was a German carpenter, carver and folk artist from the Ore Mountains .

Life

After the end of the First World War in 1918, the trained carpenter Fritz Mehlhorn, who had already taken drawing lessons from a master carpenter in Jöhstadt as a teenager , returned to Sprung and made his first attempts at carving in order to make his little son happy for Christmas. During this time he created the miner typical of the Ore Mountains, a horse stable and a two-horse wagon. He took his first successes in carving as an opportunity to train himself further in this Erzgebirge folk art, whereby in 1928 he found a teacher in the carver Richard Böhme in Niederneuschönberg . They met weekly and together created several carvings, initially animals of the forest, but soon also miners, 20 hanging candlesticks and 18 Christmas pyramids in different sizes and shapes. He also worked 120 hours in the production of the 3.40 m high pyramid in today's Museum Olbernhau, a joint product of the specialist group carving and handicrafts in the Kulturbund of the GDR . He was also actively involved in the construction of the carver's home in Olbernhau by providing numerous hours of voluntary work.

In 1951 he was one of the co-founders of the carving section in the GDR Kulturbund , which he headed for 17 years until the end of 1973 when he had to resign from this position for health reasons. During this time he created numerous carvings, some of which are still on display today in the Olbernhau Museum, the former home of his homeland . He had specialized in particular in figures depicting the peddler trade, especially since his grandfather himself was still a box man walking through the Ore Mountains with bobbin lace, herb mixes and other small items in a large sales box . During the Advent season he regularly performed the show carving in the museum in Olbernhau with some of his carver friends. In addition, he made serious efforts to train the next generation in the art of carving so that this Ore Mountains tradition could be passed on to future generations.

Felix Mehlhorn has been honored several times in the GDR for his folk art work as a carver.

literature

• Manfred Bachmann : Carving master Felix Mehlhorn in memory , in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 24 (1978), p. 284
• Olbernhauer Schnitz- und Klöppelverein eV celebrates its 60th anniversary with an exhibition . In: Olbernhauer Reiterlein. Official Gazette of the City of Olbernhau 02/12 of January 26, 2012, pp. 2-3.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manfred Bachmann: Carver Felix Mehlhorn in memory , in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 24 (1978), p. 284
2. ↑ Carving and lace exhibition in the manor . In: Olbernhauer Reiterlein. Official Journal of the City of Olbernhau 04/07 from February 15, 2017, pp. 3-4.