Fifi Kreutzer
Fifi Kreutzer (also Mathilde Jansen ; born March 24, 1891 in Cologne as Mathilde Kreutzer ; † December 29, 1977 in Ruppichteroth-Broscheid , Rhein-Sieg-Kreis ) was a German painter of Rhenish Expressionism .
life and work
Mathilde "Fifi" Kreutzer was born on March 24, 1891 in Cologne as the daughter of the head of studies Johannes Peter Kreutzer and his wife Bertha. The couple have another daughter, Elsbeth. The father, a teacher at the first girls' high school in Cologne, is an active promoter of education for girls.
Early artistic creation
Fifi Kreutzer developed a keen interest in nature and art even in his youth. That is why - contrary to her father's wish to do a high school diploma - after attending a secondary school for girls from 1905, she took private lessons with the Düsseldorf landscape painter Ernst Hardt (1869–1917). During a six-month stay with relatives in London in 1908, he made several sketches of English parks, which, along with the landscapes from the Düsseldorf period, represent the first evidence of her artistic work. In addition, Fifi Kreutzer dealt with handicraft embroidery from an early age . For her embroidered triptych “The Dragon Slayer” she received a bronze medal at the 1913 World Exhibition in Ghent ; She was also represented with embroidery at the Cologne Werkbund exhibition in 1914.
In 1917, Fifi Kreutzer - against the wishes of her parents - married the expressionist painter Franz M. Jansen , whom she had known since 1908, and moved into a neglected, barely heated house with no water and electricity connections in Winterscheid in the Siegkreis . Her husband did not follow her until 1918 after he was released from military service in Koblenz . Nevertheless, Fifi Kreutzer is happy about the living conditions in the small village, as she told Jansen in September 1917: “It's so, so beautiful here. The work, being alone, living with the farmers, so wonderful. Since I've been carrying the burdens (wood from the forest) home on my head, I've become even prouder. ”While he was still on duty in Koblenz, she visited her husband several times; She later processes the impressions she gains from joint boat trips and hikes in the Rhine Valley in her works.
Exhibitions of this creative period
| Period | place | Organizer / exhibition location | Exhibition title | Art | exhibited works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 (Nov.) | Cologne | "Art in trade and commerce" | G | Embroidery (pillows, wall hangings and embroidery pictures, including "The Dragon Slayer") | |
| 1913 (May - October) | Ghent | World exhibition | G | Triptych "The Dragon Slayer" | |
| 1914 | Cologne | German Werkbund | "German Werkbund Exhibition" | G | Embroidery |
| 1917 (May) | Berlin | Berlin Secession | G | Watercolor pen drawings “Caravan” and “Little Brother and Sister” as well as animal pictures , fairy tale illustrations |
Episode in Hamburg
The basis of the partnership between Fifi Kreutzer and Franz M. Jansen, whom she often refers to as a “work comrade”, is the mutual artistic interests and the critical, supportive attitude towards the work of the other, which they maintain throughout their lives. This attitude of the husband towards his wife , who was also an artist, was rarely found at that time. A stay in Hamburg was also due to Jansen's suggestion that his wife should expand her skills by attending an art school. To do this, they take up an offer from the poet Richard Dehmel , who dies unexpectedly shortly after the couple's arrival in January 1920. Nevertheless, they remain for several months, during which Fifi Kreutzer, from February to May - still on Dehmel's recommendation - receives instruction in graphic techniques from Carl Otto Czeschka (1878–1960) at the School of Applied Arts . In February 1920 she wrote to her parents about her expectations: “So I will try to learn as much as possible in the 3 months. Lithography , woodcut , duplication of drafts, all things that are very difficult for me because I have hardly learned anything in the craft and technical fields, I want to learn there ... "
However, the couple's wish to settle permanently in Hamburg and gain a foothold artistically is not fulfilled. You will therefore return to Winterscheid in August.
Moving and traveling
In 1922 the couple moved to Felderhoferbrücke in the Bröltal , where the landlord and hotel owner Walter Linke († 1934), a patron of her husband, converted a stable into an apartment with a studio . Linke initially waived the rent and provided them with food, so that their living conditions improved significantly. In Felderhoferbrücke a group of friends of the Jansens - mainly members of the literary group " Werkfolk auf Haus Nyland " - have been meeting for work, reading and discussion in the restaurant "Lindenhof" for several years . Among them are Otto Brües , Jakob Kneip , Heinrich Lersch , Carl Maria Weber and Josef Winckler as well as the painters Carlo Mense and Johannes Greferath . The late Richard Dehmel was also an occasional guest.
The central motifs of Fifi Kreutzer's painting are depictions of animals and landscapes, primarily from her home in the Rhineland and Upper Berg, but also from southern Germany , Austria and northern Italy , where she and her husband traveled several times from 1923 onwards. In the summer months 1926 to 1928, she and her parents visited South Tyrol , Salzburg and the Allgäu . She records what she has experienced in letters to Jansen - impressive descriptions of nature that are reflected years later in smaller literary works. Countries in the Balkans are also among her travel destinations.
Joint exhibitions
The 1920s represented a high phase in Fifi Kreutzer's artistic output. Firmly connected to the Cologne art scene together with her husband, the Cologne Art Association in particular offers her a regular forum for the exhibition of her works. The decade began with a few gallery exhibitions in Cologne and Bonn ; from 1924 to 1931, with the exception of 1930, she was represented annually in group exhibitions of the Kölnischer Kunstverein. In 1926 and 1927 she and her husband made double presentations in Frankfurt a. M. (Grafisches Kabinett Heinrich Trittler), in 1927 also in the Abels gallery in Cologne. On the occasion of the first exhibition in Frankfurt, in comparison with Jansen, she received remarkable praise from the “ Frankfurter Nachrichten ”:
“From a painterly point of view , the […] watercolors by Fifi Kreutzer are more attractive, more dramatic in composition , fresher and warmer for the senses . […] While with Jansen the needle shows the landscape in wide, interesting views and conveys impressionistic elements in large lines, Fifi Kreutzer passes on the subject and picturesque landscape motif with the warmth of feminine feeling. [...] In any case, an artistically interesting couple. "
At the end of the 1920s, however, there was a phase of marital burdens, the essential facets of which were the connection between Franz M. Jansen and a long-time friend of the family, the photographer Sophie Gerl (* 1891 in Cologne), and a liaison between Fifi Kreutzer and his son Max their patron Walter Linke are to be sought. During this time, Jansen often travels without his wife.
In addition to painting, Fifi Kreutzer worked regularly for newspapers in the early 1930s, producing illustrations and landscape drawings for travel supplements and publishing literary descriptions of nature, for example in the Kölnische Zeitung between 1931 and 1934 . Handicrafts - the aforementioned embroidery as well as nativity scenes and figural ensembles made of wood - are part of her diverse oeuvre as well as graphic prints (e.g. woodcuts ) . Her closeness to nature is not only expressed through the choice of her motifs, but also that she consciously lives under simple domestic conditions and in relative rural seclusion and devotes her entire life to gardening and agricultural work.
Exhibitions of this creative period
| Period | place | Organizer / exhibition location | Exhibition title | Art | exhibited works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924–1929 annually | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | including Cologne Secession I (1925) and II (1926) | G | |
| 1926 | Krefeld | Kaiser Wilhelm Museum | "Cologne artist" | G | Pastels and watercolors |
| 1926 | Berlin | Berlin Secession | G | ||
| 1926 (Dec.) | Frankfurt | Heinrich Trittler's graphic cabinet | "Etchings by FM Jansen - Aquarelle F. Kreutzer" | J | |
| 1927 | Frankfurt | Heinrich Trittler's graphic cabinet | J | ||
| 1927 (Oct.) | Cologne | Abels Gallery | J | ||
| 1928 | Dresden | Dresden Art Association | G | ||
| 1931 (Nov.) | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | "Cologne artist" | G |
The house in Büchel
In 1934 the couple built a house with two studios in Büchel , not far from the “Lindenhof”. The financial basis for this is the cash prize associated with the "Great Honorary Plaque of the Reich President ", which Jansen received in 1930 for his painting "Rainy Day in Spring". With this house, the couple created ideal living and working conditions. Fifi Kreutzer's parents also move to Büchel. In December 1934 she wrote to them: “To a happy coexistence in our own house, where no one can block us from having a clear view of the beautiful world and where the sunshine cannot shut us off. We are very, very tired and very, very, very happy. "
The house will remain the center of Fifi Kreutzer's life until her death, filled with arts and crafts. “There was the wonderful, large chandelier in the living room and the cabinets and boxes that Aunt Fifi had painted herself in the farmhouse style. And the art! Pictures, tapestries , sculptures , tiles, shelves with nativity scenes and two studios with unmistakable treasures on all walls . Everything smelled of paint and solvents , resin and turpentine ... ”later wrote the nephew Leberecht Jansen.
The time of the Third Reich
Fifi Kreutzer's attitude towards the National Socialists is not documented in writing. As members of the Reich Chamber of Culture , she and her husband may continue to exhibit after 1933. The first opportunity to do this came at the end of 1933 in Essen at the "Western Front 33", which is under the patronage of the Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels .
Fifi Kreutzer was a member of the Association of Low German Women Artists from 1918 to 1919, and soon after 1930 she joined the Cologne section of the GEDOK founded by Ida Dehmel , but only became active in its framework from 1933. Until 1942 she took part in GEDOK group exhibitions several times, mainly in Cologne, but also in Frankfurt am Main (1941) and Leipzig (1942). The highlight is certainly the solo exhibition that GEDOK had dedicated to her in 1934, in which she showed 30 watercolors and drawings. The " West German Observer " treats exhibits and the painter with benevolence: "These animal drawings testify to a gifted artist who deserves all-round attention and support, especially today and in the future."
In addition to GEDOK, the Cologne Art Association continues to prove to be a constant exhibition partner for Fifi Kreutzer. As early as 1935, she received an individual exhibition with 50 watercolors and drawings, which the Kölner Stadtanzeiger described in detail and with praise. Numerous events took place with her participation up to 1944.
While Franz M. Jansen is on the one hand represented with a work at the Munich exhibition " Degenerate Art " (1937) and many of his graphics are removed from German museums, but on the other hand he is still on National Socialist-oriented presentations such as " Kraft durch Freude " (1938 Hamburg) may exhibit and continues to receive state and semi-state orders, Fifi Kreutzer remains unaffected by such restrictions. The National Socialists did not suspect her work without consciously aligning her work with the National Socialist ideas of so-called German art .
Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War , the life situation for the two artists deteriorated significantly. Exhibitions have become rare and the market for art has shrunk considerably. Her works are primarily acquired by relatives and acquaintances who can give her a little support. In 1944 Jansen was called up for military service, from which he returned to Büchel seriously ill.
Exhibitions of this creative period
| Period | place | Organizer / exhibition location | Exhibition title | Art | exhibited works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 (October - November) | eat | "Western Front 33" | G | 3 pastels, 2 watercolors | |
| 1934 (July) | Cologne | GEDOK | E. | 30 watercolors and drawings | |
| 1934–1937 annually | Cologne | GEDOK | G | ||
| 1935 (Nov - Dec) | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | "Gau exhibition" | G | |
| 1935 (Oct.) | Cologne | Zoological Garden | E. | ||
| 1935 (Dec.) | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | E. | 50 watercolors and drawings | |
| 1936 (Feb.) | Dusseldorf | Kunstpalast, Ehrenhof | "German painters and sculptors" | G | |
| 1938 | Cologne | German Labor Front , Meuser | II. Factory exhibition "Strength through Joy" | G | |
| 1938–1944 annually | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | G | ||
| 1940 (April) | Barmen | Wuppertal Art Association | " Carl Barth , Albin Edelhoff , FM Jansen, Fifi Kreutzer" | G | 15 works, mainly travel pictures from the Balkans |
| 1940, 1941 | Cologne | GEDOK | "Christmas Exhibition" | G | |
| 1941 (May) | Frankfurt am Main | GEDOK | G | ||
| 1942 (April) | Leipzig | GEDOK | G |
A new beginning
After being cared for by his wife, Franz M. Jansen devotes himself to a new beginning as an artist. The Rheinisch-Bergische Künstlerkreis , which he founded in 1946 together with Carlo Mense and which worked with the Kölnischer Kunstverein from 1950 onwards and to which Fifi Kreutzer also belongs, will be the focus of her exhibition in Cologne until 1955 and after an interruption again from 1970 to 1977, Siegburg and Leverkusen. However, their further appearance is now limited to regional presentations of smaller artist groups such as in Königswinter (1953), Siegburg (1960) and Hennef (1965). The press response is always positive, for example the 1965 "Siegkreis-Rundschau" for the Hennef show: "Fifi Kreutzer (...) shows 2 oil paintings that are among the best in the exhibition."
The living conditions of the Jansens in these years after the war are, however, characterized by economic hardship. Franz M. Jansen's works can hardly be sold any more, the painter then falls into resignation and falls ill. After the death of Fifi Kreutzer's mother in 1954, the couple even rented rooms to boarders. On May 21, 1958, Jansen died of a stroke . Fifi Kreutzer now devotes himself to the administration of his estate. She confides in a friend: “A long life together, we have known each other since 1908 (...) I am grateful that I was allowed to live with him, it was difficult and beautiful. Happy for me that he loved my parents and became father's friend. Now I have to put his posthumous work in order. beware. That gives work u. that is good. ”She wrote these days to her friend Josef Winckler:“ I am grateful to Franz + my fate that I was allowed to live with him, my life revolved around him + his work. ”From these few words it becomes clear that Fifi Kreutzer, who always viewed her own artistic work with skepticism and maintained "I am a person without any ambition", consciously and voluntarily placed her work behind the work of Franz M. Jansen. Ultimately, this attitude is probably the decisive reason why Fifi Kreutzer does not achieve the level of awareness of her husband as an artist.
It is also Winckler who, in view of the continuing economic hardship after Jansen's death, advocates annual support from “ Deutsche Künstlerhilfe ”.
Nonetheless, Fifi Kreutzer remains artistically active in the last years of her life and is also represented with new works in several individual (1966 Bonn, 1971 Nümbrecht , 1973 Wiehl , 1977 Gummersbach ) and group exhibitions (1976 Cologne). Her last work is the unfinished painting “Rising Horse” (1977). Until then she will live independently in her house in Büchel. On December 29, 1977, she died of a fall in a nursing home in nearby Broscheid. She is buried in the neighboring town of Hermerath next to Franz M. Jansen. The urn grave site has now been leveled. The marriage remains childless.
Exhibitions of this creative period
| Period | place | Organizer / exhibition location | Exhibition title | Art | exhibited works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–1951 annually | Siegburg, Cologne, Leverkusen | "Rheinisch-Bergischer Artists' Circle" | G | ||
| 1950 | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | "Spring Exhibition" | G | |
| 1952, 1954, 1955 | Cologne | Cologne Art Association | "Rheinisch-Bergischer Artists' Circle" | G | |
| 1965 (Jan.) | Hennef | "Hennef Circle 'The Ten'" | G | ||
| 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977 | Cologne, Bergisch Gladbach, Bensberg | "Rheinisch-Bergischer Artists' Circle" | G | ||
| 1966 | Bonn | City library, Elisabeth School | E. | ||
| 1971 (Dec.) | Nümbrecht | Work and art market | E. | 23 works, mainly depictions of animals | |
| 1973 (June) | Wiehl | City library | "Fifi Kreutzer - Painting and Graphics - A Cross Section through 60 Years of Art Creation" | E. | |
| 1976 (October - November) | Cologne | Allianz House | "Three Cologne painters (Fifi Kreutzer, Hertha Meyer-Lederer and Käthe Schmitz-Imhoff)" | G | |
| 1977 (Dec.) | Gummersbach | City library | "Fifi Kreutzer - cross section from 70 years of artistic creation" | E. |
After death
After her death, the artist remained silent for a long time. It was not until 1991, when the August Macke House in Bonn opened as a museum, exhibition center and research facility, particularly on Rhenish Expressionism, to which part of the artistic legacy was donated, that her work became accessible again to a wider public. As early as 1993, the Bonn house honored Fifi Kreutzer in a show on seven Rhenish expressionists. Individual works are included in exhibitions in 1993, 1996 and 1999. She can also be seen in Cologne's Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle in 2000, this time with her watercolor “Carnival” from 1926.
In 2005, as the third of the Rhenish Expressionists, a detailed retrospective with around 90 works is dedicated to her in the August Macke House , which will then also be shown in the Museum Schloss Homburg in Nümbrecht and which comprehensively depicts the artistic work of Fifi Kreutzer in all its technical and thematic forms.
Exhibitions after Fifi Kreutzer's death
| Period | place | Organizer / exhibition location | Exhibition title | Art | exhibited works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 (Feb - May) | Bonn | August Macke house | "Rhenish Expressionism prints from the collection of the Museum Schloss Moyland " | G | |
| 1993 (Dec) - 1994 (Feb) | Bonn | August Macke house | "Rhenish Expressionists (Trude Brück, Lisa Hartlieb-Rilke, Fifi Kreutzer ...)" | G | |
| 2000 | Cologne | Josef Haubrich Art Gallery | “Contemporaries. August Sander and the art scene in the Rhineland in the 1920s " | G | Watercolor "Carnival" |
| 2005 (02/28 - 05/01) | Bonn | August Macke house | "Fifi Kreutzer (1891–1977) - a Rhenish expressionist" | E. | 10 paintings, 3 embroidery pictures, 1 group of wooden figures, 28 watercolors, gouaches and pastels, 24 drawings, 5 graphics (woodcuts), a total of approx. 90 works |
| 2005 (May 8th - June 15th) | Nümbrecht | Homburg Castle Museum | "Fifi Kreutzer (1891–1977) - a Rhenish expressionist" | E. | as before |
| 2007 (February 19 - April 17) | Hachenburg | Westerwald Landscape Museum | "Westerwald views" | G |
Individual works (selection)
| Time of origin | title | technology | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| around 1908 | "Pack horse" | coal | Privately owned |
| 1912 | "The Dragon Slayer" | Embroidery picture , three-part | Rheinisches Landesmuseum , Bonn |
| 1916 | "View of Oberwesel " | watercolor | Privately owned |
| around 1920 | "Crib" | Wooden figure group | August Macke House , Bonn |
| around 1920 | "Stream landscape with trees" | Oil on canvas | Privately owned |
| 1921 | "Chinese folk scene" | watercolor | Privately owned |
| 1926 | "Winter in the Bröltal" | Watercolor, Indian ink | Museum Ludwig , Cologne |
| 1926 | "Carnival" | Watercolor / pen | Privately owned |
| around 1927 | "Pig market" | Woodcut , with watercolors | August Macke House, Bonn |
| around 1927 | "Giraffes in the Zoo" | Woodcut | Privately owned |
| 1929 | "Winter Landscape II" | pastel | |
| around 1933 | "Liebfrauenkirche in Oberwesel" | Pen and ink | August Macke House, Bonn |
| around 1933 | "In the Tüschenhöhnchen (in the Bröltal)" | Colored chalks | Privately owned |
| around 1940 | "FM Jansen in profile to the right" | pencil | August Macke House, Bonn |
| around 1960 | "Winter landscape with a red half-timbered house" | gouache | Privately owned |
| around 1960 | "St. Francis with the animals of the forest" | Oil / hard fiber | |
| 1963 | "Mules on the mountain pass" | Oil painting on hardboard | Privately owned |
Works in museums and public collections
- Rheinisches Landesmuseum , Bonn
- August Macke House , Bonn
- Museum Ludwig , Cologne
- Homburg Castle Museum , Nümbrecht
Sources and literature
- Series of publications by the August Macke House (ed.): No. 48 Fifi Kreutzer, a Rhenish expressionist . Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-929607-48-4 .
- Aholt, Inge: artist Fifi Kreutzer . In: Heimatverein Winterscheid eV (Ed.): Winterscheider Heimatblatt . Issue 8. Winterscheid 2005.
- Jansen, Franz M .: From then until now . Life memories. Edited by Magdalena Moeller, Landschaftsverband Rheinland (Hrsg.), Cologne 1981.
- ↑ An uncle was so impressed by the alertness of five-year-old Mathilde that he said: “You are a real smart guy!” Her family derived the short form Fifi from this and called her from then on.
- ↑ a b c d Franz M. Jansen: A portrait of Wolfgang Delseit in the Literatur-Archiv-NRW, accessed on April 27, 2007
- ↑ a b c d e All single and double exhibitions as well as a selection of group exhibitions.
- ↑ a b c d e "E" = solo exhibition, "G" = group exhibition, "J" = double exhibition together with Franz M. Jansen
- ↑ Munich Photo School 1900–2000 ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at arthistoricum.net, accessed May 26, 2015
- ↑ from the prospectus of the August Macke house
Web links
- Literature by and about Fifi Kreutzer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Short biography
- Brief illustrated description of the work
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kreutzer, Fifi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jansen, Mathilde (after marriage); Kreutzer, Mathilde (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 24, 1891 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 29, 1977 |
| Place of death | Broscheid (Ruppichteroth) , Rhein-Sieg district |