Hans John (painter)

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Hans John (born November 22, 1888 in Berlin-Tegel , † October 18, 1973 in Bad Nauheim ) was a German painter, draftsman, etcher and illustrator. His works are assigned to the New Objectivity . The most common motifs are insects, plants, portraits and views of Bad Nauheim and the surrounding area.

Life

Hans John grew up in Berlin. In 1909 he enrolled at the Royal Art Academy in Berlin . Here he earned his exam as a drawing teacher for high schools and teacher training institutes. He ran his own studio in Berlin until the outbreak of the First World War, when he was drafted into the Wehrmacht as a medical sergeant. During this time, numerous drawings and sketches of his war impressions from Russia and France were created.

After 1918 he worked as a drawing teacher in Berlin-Steglitz and in his own studio. Several exhibitions followed in the Steglitzer town hall by 1939. At the same time, the first entomological studies were carried out. Because of his outstanding entomological representations, he became a research assistant at the German Entomological Institute of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in Berlin-Dahlem in 1925. Numerous scientifically usable drawings and copperplate engravings were created here. John's pictures are still offered worldwide, mostly online. In 1936 Hans John joined the Association of Berlin Artists, to which he belonged until his death. For the first time he gave exhibitions outside Berlin, for example in Baden-Baden and Pforzheim in 1937. In connection with his inclusion in the Military Medical Academy in Berlin , he left school in 1941. He became head of scientific drawings at the tropical medicine institute of this academy. This institute, Hans John's apartment and all of his works were victims of the bomb hail in Berlin in 1943. Some of his works were on a rescue transport to Posen organized by the Association of Berlin Artists. All pictures of this transport are missing. Historians suspect it is in Russia.

plant

John moved to Bad Nauheim in 1943. After being imprisoned in America, he received his first high-quality commissions, such as portraits of the family of Prince Hohensolms-Lich. His inclination and artistic pursuit were primarily for painting. It occupies a large space in the artist's work. Although he was extremely talented at portraits, Hans John mainly painted the landscapes of Hesse, especially those around Bad Nauheim. In Bad Nauheim he joined the Max Planck Institute as an entomologist and scientific draftsman. 300 publications of new discoveries testify to his scientific work. Hundreds of drawings of beetles, butterflies and insects were made. Here, too, he again ran his own studio, which enjoyed many orders from American occupation families. Exhibitions in Hessen were stocked with his works.

In 1951 he donated his large beetle collection to the British Museum, which used it to fill in shortages. After his death, his scientifically designed herbarium with 3,000 plants and a card index went to the disposal of the Senckenberg Natural Research Society, of which he was a corresponding member. The Musée D'Histoire Naturelle in Lausanne acquired his entomological collection and publications while he was still alive. At his new place of residence he joined the 'Oberhessischer Künstlerbund', to which he belonged until his death. There were many exhibitions of his works in the area between Gießen and Marburg, even after his death.

literature

• John, Hans . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 2 : E-J . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1955, p. 556 .

Web links

• John, Hans (1888) . In: General Artist Lexicon - International Artist Database - Online . De Gruyter, 2017 ( degruyter.com ). (ArtistID: _00062332).