Georg Meistermann

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Georg Meistermann (born June 16, 1911 in Solingen ; † June 12, 1990 in Cologne ) was a German painter , draftsman and graphic artist . He created over a thousand glass windows in around 250 locations in Europe. Meistermann taught as a professor at the Städelschule in Frankfurt , the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and the Düsseldorf Art Academy .

Exterior walls of the lecture hall Engler-Bunte-Ring 21
in Karlsruhe , 1960/61
Exterior frescoes on the former headquarters of the Zettelmeyer company
in Konz , 1970

life and work

Georg Meistermann left school in the lower prima to study three winter semesters at the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Werner Heuser , Heinrich Nauen and Ewald Mataré from 1930 to 1933 . During the Nazi era he had to break off his studies and was banned from exhibiting. He then continued his self-taught education and worked as a freelance drawing teacher. Starting from late cubism and influenced by Alfred Manessier , he developed an increasingly abstract style. In addition to paintings, portraits and murals, Meistermann has been designing church and secular glass windows since 1937. His first glass windows were made in St. Engelbert, Solingen in 1938. They were destroyed in World War II, as were many of his early paintings.

After the war, his first solo exhibition took place in the “Studio” of the Wuppertal Municipal Museum in 1946 . In 1947 he married the psychoanalyst Edeltrud Meistermann-Seeger (1906–1999). Meistermann moved to Cologne in 1949. In the same year he designed five windows for St. Markus in Wittlich , his first major church commission. In 1951 he was elected as a member of the jury of the German Association of Artists , which was re-established the previous year , and the following year he was elected to the executive committee, which he chaired from 1968 to 1972. In 1952 he designed the WDR glass wall in Cologne.

The 240 m² glass wall for St. Kilian in Schweinfurt , one of the largest church windows in Germany, with the motif of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit , was created in 1953. This was followed by an appointment at the Frankfurt Städelschule . In 1954, Meistermann created two groundbreaking works: the controversial fresco altar wall picture for St. Alfons in Würzburg and four staircase windows with the motif The Apocalyptic Riders for the old town hall in Wittlich, the Georg Meistermann Museum in the meantime . Participation in documenta 1 in 1955 was followed by an appointment at the Düsseldorf Art Academy.

The first abstract design in sacred space in Germany was created in 1957 with the almost 300 m² glass wall of the Bottrop Holy Cross Church. He took part in the documenta II in Kassel. In 1959/1960 he designed the window wall The Good Shepherd - The Eternal Light for the Wittlich cemetery chapel in Burgstrasse. In 1961 three large windows were built in the Protestant parish hall in Uerdingen with the title Birth of Christ, Crucifixion and Resurrection . For Meistermann, his depictions of the saint were an expression of his religiosity; his aim was to let the transcendental shine through: "It is not a question of creating works of art in the space of the altar, but simple, strong, effective signs for the reality of God."

From 1960 he taught at the Karlsruhe Art Academy . The controversial appointment was preceded by two years of tough negotiations, which reveal the artist's self-assessment. For example, in spite of the comparatively opulent gifts and equipment, Meistermann had refused to accept a binding teaching load.

The altar fresco for the Memorial Church of German Catholics in honor of the martyrs for freedom of belief and conscience from the years 1933–1945 Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin was created in 1963. The following year he accepted a teaching position at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His window with the risen Christ was created in Wittlich in the cemetery chapel in Trier Landstrasse. From 1967 to 1972, Meistermann was President of the German Association of Artists. Seven more windows were made in Wittlich for the St. Wendelini Hospital. Some of these are now being presented in the Georg Meistermann Museum in Wittlich.

Window on the mourning hall of the Laurentius cemetery
in Herne-Wanne , 1990

Meistermann painted the controversial oil painting Colored Notes on the biography of Chancellor Brandt between 1969 and 1973. In 1974 he painted the fresco mural for the ZDF broadcasting center in Mainz . In 1975 he was awarded the State Prize of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate for "Art in Architecture". In 1976 he designed four windows for the Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome . At the request of former Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt , he portrayed him in 1977 for the Gallery of the Federal Chancellors in the Federal Chancellery . The portrait was rejected by Chancellor Kohl. The original portrait is exhibited today in the Willy Brandt Forum in Unkel .

Meistermann describes the redesign of St. Gereon in Cologne from 1979 to 1986 as his religious testament and the culmination of his life's work . This achievement is surpassed by the window cycle in Münster's Paulus Cathedral that began in 1985 and was only completed after his death Subject "hymn of praise" according to Daniel 3, 51–90. The 17 windows form a symphony in four movements, followed by a narration and a final abstract sentence. The six units each correspond with details of the rooms of the cathedral: praise from the fire (Joseph's chapel, energy of the beginning), hymn of praise through history (Ludgerus chapel, memory of Cardinal von Galen, the lion of Münster), hymn of praise throughout the day and night (Kreuzkapelle, the cross as an orientation in time), praise with the whole creation (Maximus chapel, stylized palm trees and doubling of the butterfly as a resurrection metamorphosis), Daniel in the lions' den (northern window of the ambulatory), the final chord (southern window of the ambulatory , opposite the astronomical clock). This cycle can be read as an invitation to meditation, which may include the spiritual as well as the spiritual, under Meistermann's motto "People have to take the time that I take."

An overview exhibition in the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg took place in 1981. The last prints were made in collaboration with the printer Manfred Klement, Bonn. Between 1989 and 1991 about 120 graphic sheets were created.

Grave of his own design at the Melaten cemetery in Cologne

Meistermann was buried in the family grave at the Melaten cemetery in Cologne (hall 11 (F)). The wall grave was created according to his own design, floating cross with sun .

Honors

Posthumous honors
  • The Georg Meistermann Museum was opened in Wittlich in 1994, and in 2010 the Meistermann family withdrew the naming rights for Georg Meistermann from the city of Wittlich and renamed the now nameless exhibition site to its original name, the Städtische Galerie für Moderne Kunst .
  • In 2005 a Wittlich school was named Georg-Meistermann-Elementary School .
  • The Georg Meistermann Prize from the City of Wittlich Foundation is usually awarded every two years. It should serve to keep alive the memory of Georg Meistermann and his unwavering, critical and constructive advocacy for democracy and freedom of expression and to encourage future generations to follow this example. The prize is endowed with a sum of 10,000 euros, which is linked to the purpose of the foundation. The prize was first awarded posthumously to Johannes Rau on the occasion of the artist's 95th birthday on June 16, 2006 . The 2008 award winner was the chairwoman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Charlotte Knobloch , 2010 awardee Karl Cardinal Lehmann , 2013 Hans-Dietrich Genscher , 2016 Herta Müller and 2018 Jean-Claude Juncker .
  • The Cusanuswerk awards the Georg-Meistermann-Scholarship every year.
  • In 2006 a street in Cologne-Lövenich was named after him.
  • In 2011, on the occasion of the 100th birthday , the Solingen Art Museum Museum Baden presented the retrospective entitled “Human life is wrapped in color” designed by Justinus Maria Calleen.
  • 2015: The sculptor and Meistermann son-in-law Heribert Calleen honored the Cologne artist and art historian Norbert Küpper on the 25th anniversary of Georg Meistermann's death with the "alternative Georg Meistermann Prize" he donated through the original artist's copy of the Georg Meistermann he created -Plaquette "for his educational work about the folk artist Hanns Scherl" and his "'biographical NS denials' in the city of Wittlich ..."

estate

A large part of the artistic estate is housed in the municipal gallery for modern art in Wittlich . Forty glass paintings by Georg Meistermann can also be seen in eleven buildings in Wittlich, including in the parish church of St. Markus.

As early as 1978, parts of the written estate went to the Archive for Fine Arts (today the German Art Archive ) in the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg.

Meistermann's estate is looked after and administered by his grandson, the art historian and historian Justinus Maria Calleen.

The copyrights of Georg Meistermann's work for publications are administered by the collecting society Bild-Kunst (Bonn).

See also

literature

  • Adam C. Oellers (Ed.): Georg Meistermann. Paintings 1958–1984. Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum Aachen / Middle Rhine-Museum Koblenz 1984.
  • Justinus Maria Calleen: … I make propaganda for the faith, not for the church. Interview with Georg Meistermann. In: Braunsfeld - A puzzle in 23 parts. Ed. Harald Peikert. Cologne 1989, pp. 112-117.
  • Schäfke / Ruhrberg (Ed.): Georg Meistermann - Painting. Exhibition catalog. Wienand-Verlag, Cologne 1991.
  • Justinus Maria Calleen (Ed.): Georg Meistermann, prints - drawings - glass windows - cardboard boxes - glass pictures - paintings. Cultural Office, Wittlich 1992.
  • Justinus Maria Calleen: Georg Meistermann in St. Gereon in Cologne. Dissertation at the University of Cologne. 1993.
  • Horst Heyd (Ed.): The castle church in Old Saarbrücken and the stained glass windows by Georg Meistermann. With texts by Lorenz Dittmann, Jürgen Hertel and Horst Heyd. Saarbrücken 1993.
  • Klaus-Henning Rosen: Georg Meistermann paints Willy Brandt. A documentation. Bad Honnef 1993.
  • Albert Klein (ed., With a contribution by Justinus Maria Calleen): Wittlicher jewels, glass paintings by Georg Meistermann in Wittlich. Wittlich 2002.
  • Ralph Melcher (Ed.): Georg Meistermann. The 50s. Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken 2007, ISBN 978-3-932036-31-6 .
  • Ralf van Bühren : Art and Church in the 20th Century. The reception of the Second Vatican Council. ( History of the Council, Series B: Investigations ). Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2008, ISBN 978-3-506-76388-4 , pp. 169-175, 374f., 601f., 615-617.
  • Justinus Maria Calleen: The "Prophet of Anger". Georg Meistermann engaged art as evidence of his critical belief. In: Willingness and Education. Catholic German intellectuals in the 20th century. Ed. V. Hans-Rüdiger Schwab. Kevelaer 2009, pp. 429-445.
  • Justinus Maria Calleen: “Human life is enveloped in color.” Georg Meistermann on his hundredth birthday. Exhibition catalog. Ed. V. Justinus Maria Calleen and Rolf Jessewitsch. Solingen Art Museum - Center for Persecuted Arts, Bayreuth Art Museum and Linnich German Glass Painting Museum. Berlin / Solingen 2011.
  • Norbert Küpper: The coloring as propaganda of the infinite creative power of God - Georg Meistermann on the hundredth birthday. PDF In: the münster. Focus: contemporary painting, 2/2011.
  • Franz-Josef Schmit: Georg Meistermann. Self-presentation and facts of his life - the years 1928–1937 and the years 1941–1945. In: District yearbook Bernkastel-Wittlich 2012, p. 319 ff.
  • Werner Thissen: Insights into the invisible. Georg Meistermann's windows in Münster Cathedral. Herder-Verlag, Freiburg i. Br. 1992, ISBN 3-451-22613-8 , 2nd edition Dialogverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-933144-12-4 .
  • Liane Wilhelmus: Georg Meistermann. The stained glass work. Petersberg, 2014, ISBN 978-3-86568-759-3 .
  • Liane Wilhelmus, foray into new possibilities. Georg Meistermanns concrete glass windows and concrete walls in Freiburg. In: Monument Preservation in Baden-Württemberg , Vol. 48 No. 3 (2019), pp. 187–191.
  • Albert Schulze Vellinghausen : To the works of Georg Meistermann. In: Architektur und Kunst , Vol. 36, Issue 11, 1949, pp. 380–382.

Web links

Commons : Georg Meistermann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Works

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ kuenstlerbund.de: Board members of the German Association of Artists since 1951 ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on May 17, 2015)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kuenstlerbund.de
  2. ↑ Klaus Witt City: church and state in the 20th century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 453–478 and 1304 f., Here: pp. 463–469: Under the sign of reconstruction - Julius Döpfner's time as Bishop of Würzburg (1948–1957). P. 465 f.
  3. ↑ Quoted in: Julia Grimminger: The one who painted with the glass. The artist Georg Meistermann died 25 years ago. In: Catholic News Agency, Journal, May 12, 2015, p. 10.
  4. ↑ Jutta Held: HAP Grieshaber and Georg Meistermann at the Karlsruhe Academy of Fine Arts. On the modernization policy in Baden-Württemberg. In: Art and Architecture in Karlsruhe: Festschrift for Norbert Schneider. Edited by Katharina Büttner and Martin Papenbrock. Karlsruhe 2006, pp. 129-142.
  5. ↑ Justinus Maria Calleen: When art is banned (by) democracy. Two Willy Brandt portraits by Georg Meistermann were banned from the Federal Chancellor Gallery. In: Art of Democracy, [Willy] Brandt: "It must finally be started." Handbook III. Saarbrücken 2013, pp. 77-80.
  6. ↑ http://www.willy-brandt-forum.com
  7. ^ Georg Meistermann: Church and modern art . In: Athenaeum . Frankfurt a. M. 1988, p. 132 .
  8. ^ Josef Abt, Johann Ralf Beines, Celia Körber-Leupold: Melaten - Cologne graves and history. Greven, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7743-0305-3 , p. 202.
  9. ↑ DER SPIEGEL 8/1950: Young people grasp powerfully (accessed on December 30, 2012)
  10. ↑ Ursula Knorr, Norbert Küpper, Thomas Schnitzler: An unnecessary discussion of the past ... triggered by a small clique - The end of the Georg-Meistermann-Museum because of the denial of the National Socialist entanglements of the artist and the art of Hanns Scherl on the part of the city of Wittlich. In: JM Calleen, R. Jessewitsch (ed.): The life of man is wrapped in color - Georg Meistermann on the hundredth birthday. Berlin 2011, see also: Georg-Meistermann-Gesellschaft - Critical Forum for Art, Culture and Questions of Time e. V.
  11. ↑ Norbert Küpper: The Scherl Files - About the absurd collective denial of the Nazi past of a local artist and the resulting injunction. 2015 (accessed May 24, 2015)
  12. ↑ Georg Meistermann Prize (accessed on May 2, 2019)
  13. ^ Rüdiger Schünemann-Steffen: Cologne Street Names Lexicon , 3rd exp. Ed., Jörg-Rüshü-Selbstverlag, Cologne 2016/17, p. 273.
  14. ^ Art Forum International. 9/2015, art prizes: Georg-Meistermann-Badge, see also footnote 8.
  15. ↑ These are documented in the writing Wittlicher Jewels - Glass paintings by Georg Meistermann in Wittlich . Compare: Eileen Blädel: The high art of arguing. In: Trierischer Volksfreund, 20./21. July 2013; as well as: Diether F. Domes: art gravedigger city Wittlich. Letter to the editor in: Trierischer Volksfreund, 2./3. August 2014, and: Norbert Küpper: Like a thorn in the flesh - Georg Meistermann is ostracized in Wittlich; The arbitrary and denial relationship between the city of Wittlich and the person and work of the artist Georg Meistermann. in: controversy. Else-Lasker-Schüler-Gesellschaft eV / Center for Persecuted Arts, Wuppertal 2015 [1] .
personal data
SURNAME Master man, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, draftsman and graphic artist
DATE OF BIRTH June 16, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Solingen
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 1990
Place of death Cologne