Franz Cestnik

Franz Cestnik (born August 3, 1921 in Einbeck ; † August 28, 2011 there ) was a German painter and graphic artist.

Life

Franz Cestnik was born in Einbeck in 1921 as the son of foreman Josef Cestnik and his wife Johanne. After attending elementary school , in 1935 he began an apprenticeship as a pattern maker in a wallpaper design studio in Einbeck. In 1941 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and deployed on the Eastern Front. He lost his right eye in fighting in Yugoslavia . During his recovery phase, Cestnik began drawing lessons with the Einbeck painter Kurt Hensel (1882–1948).

After the Second World War , Cestnik decided to work as a freelance visual artist. During this time he met the young (and later anesthesiologist) Alfred Doenicke in Einbeck. He acquired and wrote about many of his paintings over time. Cestnik contacted the painter Kurt Sohns , who had been evacuated to Einbeck , who taught him drypoint technique and drew his attention to the exhibitions of the Kunstverein Hannover , where he exhibited for the first time in autumn 1949. In 1950 Cestnik showed Erich Heckel his sheets. He recommended that he also try his hand at oil painting.

This was followed by exhibitions at the Kunstverein Hannover. In 1954 the first solo exhibition took place in Hildesheim, where 16 oil paintings and 25 drawings were shown. In 1955 Günter Busch , director of the Kunsthalle Bremen , bought the etching "Harlequin" for the collection. 1956 followed a solo exhibition in the Bremen art gallery. From 1958, the Frankfurt gallery owner Hanna Bekker vom Rath stood up for him, with which he found his recognition as an artist. Cestnik expanded his artistic spectrum and learned the technique of woodcut.

Solo exhibitions and participation in exhibitions followed. In 2011 Cestnik died in Einbeck at the age of 90.

plant

Franz Cestnik is one of those artists who did not receive any training at an art college, but who continued to train and develop under the guidance of painters. He stayed in Einbeck throughout his life, painting figuratively, uninfluenced and unaffected by the development of style in Germany. Belonging to the war generation, his pictures - mostly people - often show loneliness and sadness. He appears most strongly in his drypoint etchings and woodblock prints.

Solo exhibitions

• 1958 Frankfurt, Kunstkabinett Bekker vom Rath, April 16 - May 31, 1958
• 1959 Braunschweig, Städtisches Museum, May 24 - June 21, 1959
• 1962 Bremen, Kunsthalle, November 11th - December 9th, 1962
• 1964 Thiais / Paris, Franz Cestnik, Exposition de peintures, May 31 - June 7, 1964
• 1965 Frankfurt, Bekker vom Rath art gallery, May 21 - July 3, 1965
• 1968 Aachen, Städtisches Suermont-Museum, 7 April - 28 April 1968
• 1980 Dortmund, Galerie W. Utermann, from February 13, 1980
• 1986 Munich, Neue Münchner Galerie Richard Hiepe, March 19 - May 12, 1886
• 1994 Bad Gandersheim, Brunshausen cultural center, September 11th - October 17th, 1994
• 1997 Würzburg, Martin-von-Wagner-Museum of the University, October 5 - November 30, 1997
• 2001 Einbeck, Städtisches Museum, September 2 - October 14, 2001

literature

• About Franz Cestnik . (Compilation of texts for the exhibitions in Frankfurt 1958, Bremen 1962, Frankfurt 1965, Aachen 1968). Without a year.
• Franz Cestnik. Graphic 1952-1979. Dortmund, Gallery W. Utermann, 1980
• Richard Hiepe: Franz Cestnik. Life and work. Munich, Verlag der Neue Münchner Galerie, 1986. ISBN 3-924765-05-7 .
• Martin-von-Wagner-Museum of the University of Würzburg: Franz Cestnik. Paintings and graphics. Catalog 1997.
• Ulrike Büttner: Franz Cestnik. Graphics from six decades. Oldenburg, Isensee Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-89598-795-6 .

Web links

• Website about Franz Cestnik

Remarks

1. ↑ drypoint, 32 × 14.5 cm, printed on Zerkall laid paper; 1955.