Georg Heck

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Georg Heck (born May 24, 1897 in Frankfurt am Main , † December 1, 1982 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German painter and graphic artist of Expressionism and New Objectivity .

Life

After the death of his mother, Heck spent several years of his youth in an orphanage. During his apprenticeship as a blacksmith he was accepted by a couple from Sachsenhausen. After completing his training, he worked in the Adler factory , where he became blind in his right eye due to an accident at work. As a soldier in World War I, he was taken prisoner by the French.

From 1928 to 1932, Heck was a student in Max Beckmann's master class at the Städelsche Kunstschule in Frankfurt am Main. In 1933 his works were burned as degenerate art on the Römerberg and he was banned from exhibiting.

After his return in 1946 from the frontline in the war and subsequent re-imprisonment, he devoted himself to the representation of post-war problems in the form of woodcuts. Starting with depictions of landscapes, there followed a gradual move towards more abstract depictions, which was completed by 1960 at the latest. One of his most important works is a mural in the casino of the IG Farben building , which had been whitewashed and was exposed again in 2005. Although Heck carried out more than a hundred exhibitions and was in contact with many artists and cultural workers, his economic situation remained precarious throughout his life.

Works in the IG Farben building

The frames of his drawings were damaged during an occupation of the casino (from November 30th to December 2nd, 2009) in the IG Farben building. The occupiers had demonstrated against the Bologna Process , among other things . According to estimates made in advance, the costs for the university caused by the occupation amounted to approx. € 200,000.

In the night of October 10th to October 11th, 2011 seven of Heck's works were stolen from the casino of the IG-Farben house. Apparently no insurance had been taken out for the pictures. The damage amounts to a five- to six-figure sum.

literature

  • Susanne Wartenberg (ed.): Georg Heck (1897–1982). Retrospective , Petersberg: Imhof 2019, ISBN 978-3-7319-0892-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/person/heck-georg
  2. ^ Westermann's Das Kulturmagazin, Notes: Part 1 - 1983
  3. ^ The whitewashed Arcadia , monumente Online, October 2007
  4. ↑ Comment: Chaoten im Casino , FAZ online, December 4, 2009; Photo gallery of the damage , Marketing and Communication Department of the University of Frankfurt on Flickr, December 2009; Interview with Städeldirektor Jochen Sander about the damage , Marketing and Communication Department at the University of Frankfurt on youtube, December 18, 2009
  5. ↑ Der Bilderstreit , FR Online, December 8, 2009
  6. ^ Art theft at Goethe University ( Memento from February 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Heck, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter and graphic artist
DATE OF BIRTH May 24, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH 1st December 1982
Place of death Frankfurt am Main