Hanns Breitenbach

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Self-portrait by Hanns Breitenbach, before 1929

Hanns Breitenbach (born June 19, 1890 in Fürth ; † January 25, 1945 in Gleiwitz ) was a German academic sculptor .

Life

The mourning of Hanns Breitenbach in the Gliwice Lindenfriedhof
St. Francis by Hanns Breitenbach in the central cemetery in Gleiwitz

Hanns Breitenbach was the son of a mirror manufacturer from Fürth and a mother of French descent who originally worked in Munich before he found his artistic home in Gleiwitz in Upper Silesia from 1928 .

Although his father came from a Huguenot family, he was of Catholic faith. Breitenbach's curriculum vitae is overshadowed by a violent death in January 1945 when the Red Army marched into Gliwice. His real, full name was Johannes-Jean-Nikolaus Breitenbach. During his studies, his first name was entered in the relevant matriculation book with the spelling Hans. Later, Hanns Breitenbach was mainly used as an artist name . In the family and in private life he was called Hannes. However, all of these first name variants appear in biographical references about him today.

At the beginning of the artistic career there was a solid, manual training in wood carving in Fürth. The following 10 semesters at the School of Applied Arts in Nuremberg confirmed his talents and created the basis for further artistic training and development. In 1911, Breitenbach began another 13 semesters at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich as a master student in Erwin Kurz's sculpture class . Hermann Hahn was one of his teachers there . These teachers had a lasting influence on his later work in terms of subject matter and design . After graduating, he stayed in Munich and set up his studio in Gabelsberger Strasse as a freelance artist .

In Munich he met his future wife, Friedel Breitenbach, b. Josefek from Gleiwitz, who studied textile arts and crafts there. The couple married in 1921. She was one of the daughters of Gliwice construction and concrete contractor and architect , Robert Josefek, the numerous buildings in Gliwice pointed out, at that time found a lot of attention and there are still some today. A growing number of orders from Upper Silesia required the establishment of a second studio and, in 1928, the permanent relocation of the residence to Gleiwitz. During these years in particular, numerous works were created, some of which have survived to this day.

Breitenbach's personal appearance as a person and artist was characterized by modesty and reserve. For him, artistic creation was a livelihood and, in a higher sense, the purpose of life. At the end of the war in 1945 he was unable to part with his work and to escape the violence by fleeing in good time. His daughter Marianne Ottmann wrote in an autobiographical novel about his violent death that he was wearing a motorcycle coat because of the extreme cold and was therefore mistaken for an officer by the Russian soldiers . He was "shot in the street". A burial place is not known.

Create

The Munich School is reflected in the numerous works made from a wide variety of materials . The works ranged from cabaret , reliefs , portraits , and full sculptures to representations in architecture . Building sculptures and memorial figures in sacred or public spaces were often created as monumental sculptures . As a sculptor, he was also very good at using pencils and paintbrushes.

The exact, modeled, true-to-form representation of people, paired with excellent craftsmanship, characterize his works. The figures are often based on classic models and sometimes appear excessively heroic. A viewer can, however, recognize simplifications, smooth, clear lines and a closed, expressive design language of the total work of art . Moderate gestures and the symbolism of the figures create tension and combine progressive and conservative tendencies. The figure of the “mourners” for a memorial on the Lindenfriedhof in Gleiwitz particularly expresses such accents.

With the growing influence of the National Socialists , it became more difficult for artists to get public contracts. Membership in the NSDAP as well as some works that are classified as Nazi art today made it possible to participate in the ideologically oriented, regional art exhibitions, which he could not ignore as a freelancer for reasons of existence. Participation in art exhibitions in Gleiwitz (1930, 1935), Stuttgart (1937) and Beuthen (1943) is known.

Works (selection)

Breitenbach's extensive oeuvre is not recorded. Much was lost due to the chaos of the war, was destroyed after 1945, or the whereabouts of it cannot be determined. Most of the surviving works can be found in Gliwice today . As far as possible, the location, year of origin, material and state of preservation are given.

Findable works

Figure of Mary with Jesus by Hanns Breitenbach on the facade of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Gliwice
Donation plaque for the renovation of the All Saints Church
Plaque 100 years of the composition " Deutschlandlied "
St. George sculpture at the Antoniuskirche in Richtersdorf, Gleiwitz
  • Bronze sculpture sower, for the monument to fallen soldiers in Hof (Saale) , created in collaboration with Lothar Dietz , after a competition, 1925
  • Mourners, memorial for the fallen at the Lindenfriedhof Gleiwitz , 1927, shell limestone , restored today
  • St. George sculpture, memorial to the fallen at the Antoniuskirche Gleiwitz, 1931, restored today
  • Figure of Mary with Jesus above the portal of the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael, (former name: Figure of Mary at the New Konvikt )
  • Saint Francis, full sculpture, Gleiwitz Central Cemetery
  • Donation plaque for the renovation of the All Saints Church in Gleiwitz, symbolic building block, 500 × in iron, 300 × in bronze
  • 100 years of composition “ Deutschlandlied ”, 1941, medal , one-sided, iron
  • Male nude study, drawing from 1910 in the Museum Gleiwitz

Destroyed, lost works or no information known

  • Memorial of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 23, 1928, destroyed after competition, Opole , 1945
  • Portrait of Prelate Ulitzka
  • Portrait of Lukaschek
  • Egyptian dancer
  • Cinderella, terracotta
  • Girl with towel
  • St. Georg, building sculpture in Gleiwitz / Petersdorf
  • St. Josef, building sculpture, Gleiwitz
  • 3 bronze busts for the memorial hall: "Infantry Regiment Nr.22", (soldiers of different ages), 1931, Gleiwitz
  • Fountain at the Hardenbergschule Gleiwitz, (ABC fountain) 1935, red sandstone
  • Standing girl
  • Dying warrior, bronze
  • Miner
  • Antoniusbrünnlein, Gleiwitz Central Cemetery
  • Traditional monument and memorial to the fallen of the “Möwe” marine association, Sprottau , 1929

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Schlegel: Gleiwitz - a local story book . Laumann, Dülmen 1982, ISBN 3-87466-033-8 , p. 307.
  2. ^ Walter Kempowski: Das Echolot - Fuga Furiosa, January 12 to February 14, 1945 . Albrecht Knaus, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-8135-1995-3 , p. 58.
  3. ↑ register book of the "Academy of Fine Arts" Munich , 1884-1920, no. 04088
  4. ↑ From the workshop of a Gleiwitz sculptor . Upper Silesia in Pictures , Gleiwitz 1928: 36, p. 2.
  5. ^ Marjorie Wiki: Friedel Breitenbach , accessed on April 17, 2013
  6. ^ Marianne Ottmann: Muntjak . Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 3-8311-2675-5 , p. 78.
  7. ↑ Anke Breitmaier: Write against forgetting. Marianne Ottmann from Rommelshausen was interned as a forced laborer in Auschwitz in 1945. In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten / Fellbacher Zeitung , No. 77/1998, p. 26.
  8. ↑ Pamiątki Gliwickich Pogromów - cd . ( Memento of the original from February 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cmentarz Lipowy: Picture No. 9-11, accessed on April 17, 2013  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gliwiczanie.pl
  9. ^ Ewa Chojecka: Sztuka Górnego Śląska od średniowiecza do końca XX wieku . Muzeum Śląskie, Katowice 2004, ISBN 83-87455-77-6 , p. 376.
  10. ↑ List of architectural monuments in Hof (Saale) , file no .: D-4-64-000-219
  11. ^ Decorative art : Illustrated magazine for applied art, Vol. 33, Verlag F. Bruckmann, Munich 1924, p. XVIII.
  12. ↑ The memorial in the Heroes' Cemetery in Gleiwitz . Upper Silesia in Pictures, Gleiwitz 1927: 46, p. 4.
  13. ↑ St. George Fallen Monument in Richtersdorf . Upper Silesia in Pictures, Gleiwitz 1931: 19, p. 4.
  14. ↑ List of monuments in Gliwice
  15. ↑ Śladami historii (PDF; 1.1 MB). Miejski serwis informcyjny Gliwice, No. 50/2007, p. 8, accessed on April 17, 2013
  16. ↑ A building block for the renovation of the All Saints Church in Gliwice . Oberschlesien im Bild, Gleiwitz 1930: 39, pp. 5–6.
  17. ^ Muzeum w Gliwicach , accessed April 17, 2013
  18. ↑ a b c d e f g h From the workshop of a Gleiwitz sculptor . Oberschlesien im Bild, Gleiwitz 1928: 36, pp. 2–3.
  19. ↑ Image: Consecration of the monument to fallen soldiers of the 23ers in Opole . Upper Silesia in Pictures, Gleiwitz 1928: 41, p. 6.
  20. ^ Rudolf Schlegel: Gleiwitz - a local story book. Laumann, Dülmen 1982, ISBN 3-87466-033-8 , p. 306.
  21. ↑ Photo documentation from the inauguration to the destruction, accessed on February 11, 2016
  22. ↑ Störtkul, Stüben, Wegner: Eastern Europe and the Germans after the First World War (writings of the Federal Institute for Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe). Verlag Oldenbourg, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-486-59797-4 , p. 204.
  23. ^ Fontanna ABC , photography
  24. ↑ a b Annual exhibition of the Federation for Fine Arts in Upper Silesia . Upper Silesia in Pictures, Gleiwitz 1930: 47, p. 6.
  25. ↑ From the exhibition of the Upper Silesian Artists Association . Upper Silesia in Pictures, Gleiwitz 1935: 17, p. 3.
  26. ↑ Pomnik pamięci marynarzy for okrętu "Mewa" (dawny) . Retrieved April 25, 2013

literature

  • Marianne Ottmann: Muntjac . Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 3-8311-2675-5 .
  • Rudolf Schlegel: Gleiwitz - a local story book. Laumann, Dülmen 1982, ISBN 3-87466-033-8 .
  • Ksenia Stanicka-Brzezicka: Artystki śląskie ok. 1880-1945 . Marszalek, Toruń 2006, ISBN 83-7441-377-8 .
  • Horst Bienek: Description of a province . Hanser, Munich, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-446-13780-7 .
  • Martin Papenbrock, Anette Sohn: Art of the early 20th century in German exhibitions: an annotated bibliography. Exhibitions of German contemporary art during the Nazi era. VDG, Weimar 2000, ISBN 3-89739-041-8 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Breitenbach, Hanns
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Breitenbach, Johannes-Jean-Nikolaus (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Fuerth
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1945
Place of death Gliwice