Heinrich Kirchhoff

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heinrich Kirchhoff (born July 10, 1874 in Essen- Rüttenscheid; † October 29, 1934 in Wiesbaden ) was an important art collector and patron in Germany in the first half of the 20th century .

Life

Heinrich Kirchhoff settled in Wiesbaden in 1908. On April 27, 1908, he submitted a building application to the city of Wiesbaden to have a villa built by the Essen architect Paul Dietzsch on the property at Beethovenstrasse 10. Behind the representative villa, which is still standing today, he had a garden laid out according to his own plans. In 1909 he married Tony (actually Antonie) Heinzberger, with whom he had the children Maria, Antonie and Karlheinz. Kirchhoff began collecting paintings around 1914. Because of his father's extensive legacy, he did not have to work and was able to devote himself entirely to his collection. At first he mainly bought works of Art Nouveau and Impressionism, later exclusively Expressionism. When the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the works in his collection were considered “ degenerate art ” and they were removed from the Wiesbaden Museum , where they had previously been exhibited. After Kirchhoff's death, the collection was dissolved and sold.

Artist

Kirchhoff not only collected art, but also actively supported many artists. He provided Conrad Felixmüller and Walter Jacob with the necessary living space in Wiesbaden and regularly bought work from them. As a result of this close connection, several portraits of Kirchhoff, his family and his garden were created.

  • Felixmüller about this time:

"To be exhibited in Wiesbaden, to hang in the Kirchhoff Collection, was a recommendation. I thank Wiesbaden for my fondest memories."

Kirchhoff had a particularly strong relationship with Alexej Jawlensky , who lived in Wiesbaden from 1921. In 1928 he moved into the direct neighborhood of Kirchhoff at Beethovenstrasse 9. Jawlensky was particularly well represented in the Kirchhoff collection. Kirchhoff and Jawlensky were close friends and Kirchhoff financed Jawlensky for years. This connection broke off, however, because Jawlensky had a relationship with Kirchhoff's wife Tony, whom he also portrayed several times.

collection

  • Heinrich Kirchhoff himself about his collecting activities:

"I know exactly what art and what shit is."

Kirchhoff's modern art collection was created between 1914 and 1934 and was one of the largest of its kind in Germany and was often exhibited during this time, especially in the Wiesbaden Museum. It included art nouveau artists such as the Wiesbaden Hans Völcker and Fritz Erler , impressionists such as Max Liebermann and above all the expressionists. The following artists were represented in the collection:

Alexej von Jawlensky ; Wassily Kandinsky ; Franz Marc ; Paul Klee

Erich Heckel ; Otto Mueller ; Emil Nolde

  • Other expressionists:

Oskar Kokoschka ; Christian Rohlfs ; Walter Jacob ; Conrad Felixmüller; George Grosz ; Max Beckmann ; Josef Eberz

Paintings from the collection

The Kirchhoff collection included the following paintings :

  • "Portrait of Heinrich Kirchhoff" (1918) by Max Liebermann (today Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden)
  • "Turandot II" (1912) by Alexej von Jawlensky (today Sprengel-Museum , Hanover)
  • "The Wolves" (1913) by Franz Marc (today Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo)
  • "Gläserner Tag" (1913) by Erich Heckel (today Pinakothek der Moderne , Munich)
  • "Maria Ägyptiaca" (1912) by Emil Nolde (today Kunsthalle Hamburg , Hamburg)
  • "Family Portrait Kirchhoff" (1920) by Conrad Felixmüller (today Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden)
  • "The Kirchhoff Family" (1920) and "The Kirchhoff Garden" (undated) by Walter Jacob (today both Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden)
  • "Tropical Garden" (undated) by Josef Eberz (today Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden)
  • "Dedication to Oskar Panizza " (1917) by George Grosz (today State Gallery Stuttgart , Stuttgart)
  • "The Death" (1922) by Christian Rohlfs (today Museum Folkwang , Essen)
  • "Brother and Sister" (1914) by Oskar Kokoschka (today Leopold-Hoesch-Museum , Düren)

literature

  • Schmidt, Ulrich: "Heinrich Kirchhoff - a pacemaker of modern art" in "Art in Hesse and the Middle Rhine" 1982
  • Hildebrand, Alexander: "The portrait - art collector Heinrich Kirchhoff" in "Wiesbaden International" year 4/1983
  • Funk, Birgit: "Point of attraction for artists from all over the world" in "Zeitzeugen II" 1998
  • Jacobs, Nikolas: "A Century of Art in Wiesbaden" 2005

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Fäthke, Jawlensky and his companions in a new light, Munich 2004, p. 189 f, ders .: Alexej Jawlensky, heads etched and painted, Die Wiesbadener Jahre, Galerie Draheim, Wiesbaden 2012, p. 10 f

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kirchhoff, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German patron and art collector
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH eat
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 1934
Place of death Wiesbaden