Hans Lietzmann (painter)

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Memorial plaque to Hans Lietzmann in Torbole on Lake Garda

Hans Lietzmann (born April 2, 1872 in Berlin , † September 4, 1955 in Torbole on Lake Garda ) was a German painter and draftsman .

Life

As a child, Hans Lietzmann and his father visited the Trentino shores of Lake Garda in 1879 , and in 1884/85 mainly Riva del Garda , where an old aunt of his lived. From 1889 to 1894 he studied at the art academy in Berlin . In 1896 he moved to Munich and trained as a baritone there.

Lietzmann's villa "Café Paradiso" on Lake Garda

However, Lietzmann was so fascinated by the light and colors of Lake Garda that he decided in 1899 to settle in Torbole . Here he bought a villa with a lake plot and a beach, which he called “Café Paradiso”. Right on the lakeshore, Lietzmann founded the “Male Nude in the Free” school, which was attended by numerous German artists who traveled in the footsteps of Goethe's Italy. Many painters came to Torbole during this period.

Until 1915, Lietzmann found happiness and recognition around Lake Garda. He painted and drew numerous places and had contact with many compatriots who were already living here at that time. But he also kept in touch with his German homeland. Lietzmann always felt the need to depict biblical subjects, and so a series of pictures with motifs from the New Testament for churches and museums in Germany was created. During the First World War , Lietzmann was recruited as a military draftsman by the German Empire and he recorded the incipient use of aircraft in war on the French front, in 1918 in Autrécourt-sur-Aire , in his pictures. A painting is known that is dedicated to the squadron of Freiherr Manfred von Richthofen . He also portrayed Ernst Brandenburg as the bearer of the Pour le Mérite , who, as commander of bomb squadron No. 3 (England squadron), led the first bombing of London on June 13, 1917.

After the First World War, the fascist government under Benito Mussolini expropriated foreign properties. Hans Lietzmann also lost his property on Lake Garda. Nevertheless, he returned to Torbole in 1925 and continued his artistic work, albeit in extreme poverty. Lietzmann's restoration of the altarpiece by Giambattista Cignaroli in the Church of San Andrea in Torbole , which was largely destroyed by a fragmentation bomb during the war, will be remembered . Hans Lietzmann advocated that Section 267 of the 1925 Act, which made homosexuality a criminal offense, should be abolished.

During the Second World War , the 70-year-old artist stayed on Lake Garda. In the last days of the war at the end of April 1945, he witnessed the contested capture of Torbole by the 10th US Mountain Division . The painter spent the last years of his life in poverty. During this time he dealt almost exclusively with religious subjects and portrait work. Hans Lietzmann died on September 4, 1955 in Torbole and was buried in the local cemetery according to the Protestant rite.

exhibition

In 2006, an extensive exhibition was devoted to the works of Lietzmann, which was shown first in Nago and then in the »Galleria Civica G. Segantini« in Arco and for which a bilingual exhibition catalog ( Hans Lietzmann: Berlino, 1872 - Torbole, 1955 ) has been published.

Major works

Mural Saint Antonio speaks to the fish

In addition, Lietzmann created countless drawings , pastels , woodcuts , gouaches , charcoal drawings and male nude studies.

There is also a detailed diary of the artist, which is in the possession of Lietzmann's friends in Torbole on Lake Garda, but the handwriting is difficult to read.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ § 267 of the official draft of a General German Criminal Code "Fornication between men". A memorandum addressed to the Reich Ministry of Justice .
  2. ↑ Il paese brucia. Dai diari di Hans Lietzmann , pp. 162-167.

literature

  • Richard Bergius, Nonn: wall paintings by Hans Lietzmann . In: “ Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung ”, vol. 42, No. 95 (November 25, 1922), pp. 581-583.
  • Hans Lietzmann painter (Berlin 1872 - Torbole on Lake Garda 1955): Commemorative exhibition of the municipality of Torbole on Lake Garda . Exhibition Palace 1985. 32 pages with many pictures, 23 × 21 cm (German translation)
  • Albino Tonelli: Ai confini della Central Europe: il sanatorium of Hartungen di Riva del Garda: dai fratelli man a Kafka gli ospiti della cultura europea . Riva del Garda: Comune; Biblioteca civica; Museo civico 1995
  • Quaderni di storia locale , ed. from the cultural association »Giurisdizione di Penede«, Nago-Torbole (ital.)
  • G. Nones: Hans Lietzmann in Torbole on Lake Garda . In: magazine "Il Sommolago", vol. 2, no. 3, 1985, p. 127ff.
  • Hans Lietzmann: Berlino, 1872 - Torbole, 1955 , Nicolodi, Rovereto 2006, ISBN 978-88-8447-267-0
  • Il paese brucia. Dai diari di Hans Lietzmann . In: Graziano Riccadonna: Anni di guerra. Nago e Torbole 1940-1945 , Gruppo culturale Nago-Torbole, Arco 1995.

Web links

Commons : Hans Lietzmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Lietzmann, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter and draftsman
DATE OF BIRTH April 2, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 1955
Place of death Torbole on Lake Garda