Gustav Kolb (art teacher)

Gustav Kolb (* 1867 in Leidringen , † 1943 in Stuttgart ) was a German art teacher . As the editor of the journal Art and Youth and as the author of the standard work Pictorial Design as a task of popular education , which is used in many schools , he shaped art education until he was withdrawn from the editor in 1934.

life and work

Gustav Kolb attended the Latin school in Leonberg and in 1883 the teachers' college in Esslingen am Neckar . From 1887 to 1891 he was a primary school teacher and then decided to study drawing. In 1892 he passed the entrance exam for the Stuttgart Art Academy , where he studied with Professors Lehmke and Grünewald. In 1897 he passed the drawing teacher examination and in the same year was elected by the Göppingen town council as drawing teacher at the secondary school. In 1901 Kolb married in Göppingen.

In 1901, together with his friend and colleague Karl Gmelich, he published a table work From The Plant To The Ornament . Instead of copying historical templates, which was required in the curricula at the time, they wanted to “guide young people to a conscientious, objective study of the plant, whose laws of growth and education and typical basic forms must be clearly recognized and represented using the simplest means.” He was involved in the art education movement . In 1904 Kolb took over the editorial management of the journal “ Der Zeichenlehrer ” for the Württembergischer Bildlehrer Association , in 1907 it became “ Art and Youth, Illustrated Journal of the Association of South German Drawing Teachers' Associations .” In the first edition, he formulated the principle, “Every free word should belong, everyone honest and factual opinion should be heard ”, which he followed until 1934. In 1905 Kolb designed “Contributions to the Reform of Drawing Lessons”, which in 1908 in the new curriculum meant that students were no longer just allowed to copy, but also to design freely. Fritz Steisslinger , Oskar Schlemmer , Fritz Nuss and Margret Hofheinz-Döring were among his students in Göppingen .

After the First World War , Kolb joined the SPD and tried to help rebuild it as a local councilor. In 1920 his application for "freedom from schools and learning materials at all local schools" was unanimously accepted. Shortly afterwards, however, he resigned his council mandate and left the SPD.

His proposals for art education in Württemberg were largely implemented in Württemberg and beyond. In 1920 a local council report reported "With the approval of the Ministry of Churches and Schools, Student Councilor Kolb should be asked to prepare the reorganization of drawing lessons and the future regulation of drawing teacher training." A little later, Kolb became a professor and had to teach and examine young drawing teachers . The move to Stuttgart followed in 1926.

From 1921 the magazine " Art and Youth " was read as "German papers for drawing, art and handicraft lessons / magazine of the Reich Association of academically trained drawing teachers" throughout Germany.

In 1925 Kolb wrote his main work, " The Pictorial Design ", which was used for a long time in many schools as a practical and theoretically leading standard work for drawing lessons.

The Nazis welcomed piston initially and hoped from him "the rebirth of our people" . The diversity that he showed in art and youth , however, did not fit the ideology of the National Socialists. He was dismissed from teacher training in 1933 without thanks and in 1934 he was also deprived of the editorial office of “ Art and Youth ” , partly because of his work for the SPD . He died in 1943, disappointed and desperate about political developments.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pictorial design as a task of popular education, Stuttgart, Holland & Josenhans, 1927.
2. ↑ An exhibition in the City Museum in the Storchen in 2005 commemorated the collaboration between the two drawing teachers in Göppingen.
3. ↑ Der Pelikan , No. 40, 1931, p. 3