Fritz Grewenig

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Fritz Grewenig (born February 28, 1891 in Heusweiler ; † September 29, 1974 in Trier ) was a German painter.

Life

Fritz Grewenig was born in 1891 as the eldest of nine children of the decorative painter Wilhelm Ludwig Grewenig and his wife Karolina, b. Boullay born. After an apprenticeship as a painter in his father's business, Grewenig attended the professional school for decorative painting in Saarbrücken from 1909 to 1911 and trained with the Saarbrücken painter Richard Wenzel between 1911 and 1913 . From 1913 he studied at the Royal Saxon Academy in Dresden with Richard Müller , Robert Sterl , Otto Gussmann , Gotthardt Kuehl and Eugen Bracht . In 1914/15 and 17/18, however, he had to do military service and interrupt his studies.

In 1918 he returned to Saarbrücken, but continued his studies in Dresden in 1920 and graduated in 1922. In the same year he founded a private art school in Saarbrücken and joined the Saarland Artists Association . From 1927 to 1932 he was also the first chairman of the Saar area section of the Association of Visual Artists Germany.

In 1924 his art school became the State School for Art and Applied Arts Saarbrücken , and Grewenig was its first director until 1936. In 1925 he was appointed professor and was commissioned to build a collection as artistic director of the State Museum for New Art in Saarbrücken. On the initiative of the National Socialists, the painter was voted out of office as chairman of the German Association of Artists in the Saar region in 1932, and his pictures were often rejected at exhibitions. The 2nd chairman of the artist association Hermann Keuth had accused Grewenig of separatist activities in the Saar area. In 1936 the State School of Arts and Crafts in Saarbrücken was dissolved and Grewenig was dismissed by Reich Commissioner Bürkel and lost his status as a civil servant.

From 1936 Grewenig became a lecturer at the Werkkunstschule Trier , where he worked until 1950. In 1945 he led the reconstruction of the building after the end of the Second World War and re-established teaching at the Trier school. Until 1948 he took over the overall management of the school. In 1950 he was appointed professor at the Landeskunstschule Mainz , where he worked until his retirement in 1956. Grewenig moved back to Trier and worked there as a freelance artist until his death.

Work and meaning

During his time in Saarbrücken, Grewenig's colorful pictures were mainly influenced by Expressionism and often depict views of his homeland. In the 1930s, important galleries such as Cassirer in Berlin, Caspari in Munich and Flechtheim noticed him and dedicated exhibitions to him. The renowned art magazine "Cicerone" reported on him. After moving to Trier, however, he withdrew to harmless floral and folkloric genre paintings.

The establishment of today's University of Fine Arts in Saarbrücken and the collection of the Museum of New Art (today Saarland Museum) made Saarbrücken an important art location.

Works in public space

Exhibitions

  • 1917: first group exhibition at van Hees, Saarbrücken
  • 1919: Organization and participation in the "Exposition Franco-Sarroise"
  • 1920: Group exhibition at van Hees, Saarbrücken
  • 1922: Organization of the first major art exhibition in Saarland
  • 1923: Participation in an exhibition in Zurich
  • 1932: Exhibitions at: Galerie Flechtheim (Berlin and Düsseldorf)
  • 1932: Great Düsseldorfers
  • 1932: Annual exhibition in Essen
  • 1932: Great Berliners (as part of the Saarland special show)
  • 1947: Group exhibition at Theisen, Trier
  • 1953: Group exhibition at van Hees, Saarbrücken
  • from 1956: annual exhibitions in Trier
  • 1963: Participation in the anniversary exhibition in Luxembourg

literature

  • Grewenig, Fritz . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 2 : E-J . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1955, p. 306 .
  • Walter Schmeer: Professor Fritz Grewenig. In: Saarbrücker Hefte 22, 1965, pp. 87-96
  • Hans Ludwig Schulte: Artist and organizer: for the 100th birthday of Professor Fritz Grewenig. In: Trierischer Volksfreund , March 25, 1991, p. 27
  • Grewenig, Fritz . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 61, Saur, Munich a. a. 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-23028-8 , p. 532.

Web links

  • Grewenig in the artist lexicon Saar
  • Little in the Saarland biographies

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralph Melcher, Christof Trepesch, Eva Wolf: A picture of culture: the history of the Saarland Museum . Gollenstein, Blieskastel 2004, p. 308
  2. ^ The history of the SKB in the Nazi era , Saarländischer Künstlerbund, accessed on August 10, 2015
  3. ↑ Eva-Maria Reuther: When the signs were pointing to a storm. In: Trierischer Volksfreund , June 20, 2003.
personal data
SURNAME Grewenig, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Heusweiler
DATE OF DEATH 29th September 1974
Place of death trier