Gustav Adolf Closs

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Gustav Adolf Closs: Ride on a falcon hunt , watercolor (approx. 23 × 15 cm), 1935, private collection

Gustav Adolf Carl Closs (or Cloß ; * May 6, 1864 in Stuttgart , † September 3, 1938 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf ) was a German painter , illustrator and heraldist .

life and work

Origin, youth and studies

Closs was the son of wood engraver Adolf (Georg) Cloß (born November 14, 1840 in Stuttgart; † February 2, 1894). However, there are also contradicting information about Adolf's twin brother, the painter Gustav (Paul) Cloß (1840–1870), as his father. Gustav Adolf Closs always stated (also in writing) that Adolf was his father, so this statement is probably correct. Adolf Closs had a renowned woodcut studio in Stuttgart. He was married to Mathilde (née Groß) for the first time and fathered two other children with her, besides Gustav Adolf: Helene Augustine Pauline (born January 20, 1866 - April 8, 1945) and Marie Auguste (died at an old age of two years).

Gustav Adolf Closs attended the royal high school in Stuttgart from 1872 to 1882, where he received his certificate on September 13th.

Immediately after the completion of secondary education path is Closs enrolled on 20 November 1882, the Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen for Heads of State and Political Science (then "Regiminalwissenschaft"). In addition, Closs was active in the Corps Franconia Tübingen . There, he held, among others, the batch of Conseniors . In the summer semester of 1885 he studied for one semester at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg , but returned to Tübingen in the coming winter semester. When he moved to Freiburg, Closs switched from regular criminal sciences to law . However, he did not complete this course either and ended his student career prematurely before the winter semester of 1886.

Artistic training (1886 to 1891)

Immediately after his studies, Closs was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe . Although his talent for landscape painting was already evident here , he did not become a student of the popular Gustav Schönleber , but a student of Ernst Schurth , who devoted himself more to figure painting and historical representations . However, Closs only stayed there for a year, since he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from October 17, 1887 . At that time, Karl Theodor von Piloty was probably the most outstanding artist there. Closs' teacher at the Munich Art Academy was Wilhelm von Diez . However, there are no indications that Closs was involved in the Munich Secession and its aftermath. From Diez, Closs received in particular his emphasis on illumination and color elements in genre portraits. In addition, he developed a clear tendency towards realistic, unadulterated and very detailed representation, which should reproduce natural life situations as well as possible. Closs also preferred the depiction of rather insignificant personalities in typical situations in their everyday life. Already at the time when he was a student at the Munich Academy, Closs made some illustrations for well-known newspapers. After Closs left the academy in 1891, he settled in Stuttgart.

Creative time

As an illustrator

The illustration for Eduard Mörike's Der Feuerreiter , which was made in 1887 and was created using the wood engraving method and appeared in the ballad collection Die Gartenlaube (1888), can be considered the first work. Also in the gazebo in 1889 a picture with the title Bloody Easter was published in 1525 , as well as one in 1893 with the name The Destruction of Hirsau Monastery by the French under Mélac . There are also numerous more of his history paintings there . He also created many illustrations for articles for Über Land und Meer , for an illustrated edition by Wilhelm Hauffs Lichtenstein , for Homer's Odyssey , for the Karl May novel Die Sklavenkarawane .

This was later followed by illustrations for the " Fliegende Blätter ", a very popular, humorous magazine from the imperial era , of which Closs was one of the most sought-after illustrators from autumn 1897. There is evidence that he worked for the "Fliegende Blätter" for around 20 years. After his marriage, he worked increasingly for the magazine " The Funny Week ", which offered a higher print quality and thus better met his artistic demands. The xylographic implementation of the illustrations was mostly done by Closs' father Adolf Georg Closs and his assistants in his Stuttgart studio until his death.

In 1898, Closs received an award from Ludwig Stollwerck's first competition for designs for Stollwerck collectibles . The judges were professors Emil Dopeler the Elder. J. , Woldemar Friedrich , Bruno Schmitz and Franz Skarbina from Berlin as well as a partner in the Stollwerck company.

In 1907 Gustav Adolf Closs married the thirteen years younger daughter of an instrument maker Martha Pauline Karoline Pfaff in Stuttgart and moved with her to Berlin . The two had no children and one can assume that the relationship was also rather cool and distant beyond that.

Wroclaw Prussians ride through the Kaisertor of the Silesian Friedrich Wilhelms University , oil on canvas, 1911

As a painter

In addition to his work as an illustrator , which he apparently only saw as a means of earning income, Closs saw himself primarily as a painter.

In the first ten to fifteen years of his painting activity, Closs produced, among other things, some large wall paintings on the castles of Schöckingen (from 1892/1893) and Rapperswil (from approx. 1896). Closs received the contract for Schöckingen Castle because of his friendship with Friedrich von Gaisberg-Schöckingen (1857–1932), which came from his time with the Tübingen Franks . On the north side of Rapperswil Castle, Closs made two large wall paintings (2 × 4 m), which are to be regarded as some of his main works in the field of wall painting not only because of their flawless condition. Other murals, such as B. an approx. 4 × 2.25 m painting in the Königsbau in Stuttgart have been lost - primarily due to the building destruction in the two world wars.

In the period from 1890 to 1910, when Closs appeared in public primarily as an illustrator and wall painter, he also made numerous panel paintings , such as B. for the Villa Hartmann in Heidenheim . The three paintings made for the Villa Hartmann: Return from the hunt to Hellenstein Castle , Reception of a knight at the head of his army by the city fathers of Heidenheim and the late medieval dance on the bastion of the castle are now in Hellenstein Castle in Heidenheim.

One of his best-known pictures is The Fall of Roland von Berlin (1906/1907), which he made at the request of Kaiser Wilhelm II at a personal audience . In addition, Closs made two more pictures for the Kaiser with the titles: Vor Roßbach and Garde du Corps , which is very surprising, since Kaiser Wilhelm II actually categorically any echoes of Impressionism and Art Nouveau , as they appeared in Closs' portraits refused. Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia , who leaned towards the army, and his wife, Crown Princess Cecilie , were even able to develop a kind of friendship, which was reflected in the production of numerous portraits. Furthermore Closs made work for the Romanian King Charles I to.

As a heraldist

One of the many bookplates that Closs designed for Friedrich von Gaisberg-Schöckingen.

Due to Closs' penchant for the representation of history and the historical, detailed design of his portraits, the occupation with heraldry was already obvious. Gustav Adolf Closs was introduced to this auxiliary science by Kurt Freiherr Seutter von Lötzen . Later he worked intensively with his friend Friedrich Freiherr von Gaisberg-Schöckingen in the field of heraldry. Both were also members of the »St. Georgen Association of the Württemberg Knighthood «. For the association »St. Michael Association of German Nobles for the Care of History and the Preservation of Historically Justified Class Interests «where Gaisberg was chairman and to whom u. a. which also owned Guttenberg and Müllenheim , he designed the bookplate opposite. On October 17, 1893, Closs became a member of the " German Herald ". From 1918 to 1934 Closs was the editor of the »German Herald«. His commitment there was so great that he was elected deputy chairman in 1923. Numerous heraldic drawings by him have been published, such as B. in the "Familiengeschichtliche Blätter", the "Heraldisch-Genealogischen Blätter" and the "Deutscher Roland". After Adolf Hildebrandt's death in 1918, Closs took over painting of the coat of arms in the German Gender Book . In addition, Closs was appointed by the German Municipal Association as an expert heraldist, who was given the task of checking and improving the existing coats of arms and, if necessary, of creating new coats of arms. His skills and profound knowledge of heraldry were shown in the detailed, authentic and faithful representation. Along with Otto Hupp and Eduard Lorenz Lorenz-Meyer, Gustav Adolf Closs is considered to be the best heraldist of his time and has acquired an extensive reputation beyond the limits of his life.

death

Gustav Adolf Closs died on September 3, 1938 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf . In addition to the former Crown Prince and Closs' Corps brothers from Tübingen, numerous other representatives of the clubs and societies whose memberships and honorary posts Closs had held took part in the funeral service. The urn with his ashes was transferred to Stuttgart and buried in the Fangelsbach cemetery. His grave is still there.

Gustav Adolf Closs was a member of the German Association of Artists .

Awards

  • February 25, 1897: Large gold medal for art and science on the ribbon of the Frederick Order of the State of Württemberg
  • May 1905: Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Royal Württemberg Order of Frederick
  • Duke of Brunswick mark of merit for art and science

Selection of individual works

Riding of the Tübingen Franks , 1907

painting

Illustrations

Fonts

  • Four lectures on coats of arms . Starke, Görlitz 1937 (= family research series; issue 10).

Kösener window

In 1898, the Kösener Seniors Convent Association gave the Corps Onoldia two glass windows with the student coats of arms of all Kösener Corps. They were designed by Closs and manufactured by Franz Xaver Zettler in Munich.

  • 1. Kösener window

  • 2. Kösener window

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Cloß was the original spelling that Gustav Adolf was later to change to Closs.
  2. ↑ Other winners were Adolf Münzer from Munich, Oskar Zwintscher from Meißen, A. Haas from Munich, August Unger from Berlin, W. Wulff from Karlsruhe, Helene Schulz from Berlin, Hans Anker from Berlin, A. Bauer jr. from Düsseldorf, P. O. Engelhard from Munich, A. Höfer from Munich, A. Klingner from Berlin, H. Krause from Berlin, E. Neumann from Munich, F. P. Schmidt from Dresden, Ad. Wagner from Kassel and P. Wendling from Friedenau. - Source: Prof. Karl Hofacker: »Kunstgewerbeblatt«. 9th year, Leipzig 1898.
  3. ↑ kuenstlerbund.de: Full members of the German Association of Artists since it was founded in 1903 / Closs, Gustav Adolf ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on January 9, 2016) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kuenstlerbund.de

literature

Web links

Commons : Gustav Adolf Closs  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Coat of arms designed by Gustav Adolf Closs  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Closs, Gustav Adolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cloß, Gustav Adolf; Closs, Gustav Adolf Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, illustrator and artist
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1938
Place of death Berlin-Wilmersdorf