Heinrich Stein (painter)

Heinrich Stein (born October 27, 1850 in Würzburg , † August 25, 1913 in Garmisch ) was a German landscape painter .

Life

Heinrich Joseph Stein was born in Würzburg on October 27, 1850, the seventh of eight children of Franz and Margarethe Stein. His father was the landlord of the “Gast- und Kaffee Haus Zum Hirschen” on Vierröhrenbrunnenplatz in the middle of Würzburg's old town.

Little is known about childhood, youth and artistic training as well as the work of Heinrich Stein, who was deaf throughout his life. He is said to have stayed many times in the Rhön and for longer periods in Munich , Paris and Italy . To assume is that he is in Munich autodidact made by - as was largely effective at that time - in the great collections of paintings studied the old masters and copied. There is evidence of a signed oil painting “In the Thuringian Forest” with the designation “Munich 78”.

Until 1912, Stein lived in the baroque building erected by Balthasar Neumann in 1726/27 , in which his eldest brother continued his father's renowned inn. There he had set up a studio in the attic . Only in 1892 was he temporarily resident at Büttnergasse 8, presumably due to renovation work. The family members, who also lived in the building of the inn, made a significant contribution to his livelihood and thus to the opportunity to devote themselves to his artistic inclinations.

Stein's travel and study stays can only be inferred indirectly by means of his dated sketches, drawings and paintings that have been given locations. For example, he was in Fiesole near Florence in 1874 , on Capri in September 1875 , in the Bavarian Forest in 1878 , in Bad Tölz in 1880, 1885 and 1887 and again on Capri in 1892. From the echoes of French impressionism in his work from 1880 onwards, one can conclude that he was staying in Paris .

The painter's colony around Friedrich Preller d. J. (1838–1901) in Kleinsassen near Fulda , Stein apparently joined for a time. In his most creative time he moved mainly in Würzburg and the surrounding area, the Rhön and the Isar valley near Bad Tölz and Garmisch. There was a second home of the family called "Villa Stein", which was inhabited by his niece Ottilie.

Stein was one of the initiators for the "Künstler-Verein-Würzburg" founded on September 30, 1881. Its members included u. a. Heinz Schiestl , Ferdinand Knab and Carl Diem . In 1883, Stein also joined the “Würzburger Kunstverein”, which, in contrast to the more sociable “Künstler-Verein-Würzburg”, devoted its exhibitions to contemporary art and promoting young talent.

The collapse of the bank “Lippert & Stein”, which was run by his brother Eduard as co-owner, in 1908 deprived Stein of his entire fortune. The now destitute and unmarried artist fell into public welfare. From April 1, 1908, he received financial support of 60 marks per month from the “Guttenberg-Ostein-Stadion'schen Foundation” . From October 1, 1908, this was done by the "Fischer'sche Poor Foundation". Since July 21, 1912, Stein was "inner citizen hospital beneficiary" and housed in the Würzburg citizen hospital of the Holy Spirit . There he spent his last years. Heinrich Stein died on August 25, 1913 in Garmisch while visiting his relatives in the "Villa Stein". On August 29, 1913, he was buried in the Würzburg main cemetery.

Artistic creation

Heinrich Stein "View from Judenbühlweg to the fortress and city" (Würzburg), 1879

As can also be seen from his artist's stamp, Stein saw himself as a landscape painter. Figurative representations are rare in his work and were mainly used as accessories. Due to his handicap, landscape painting is more likely to have corresponded to his nature than other areas of painting. His probably autodidactic training allowed him to express himself independently of academic teaching templates in the styles that he considered appropriate. If his already mentioned oil painting “In the Thuringian Forest” from 1878, which was probably created in a Munich studio, or the studio picture “View from Judenbühlweg to the fortress and city” (Würzburg) dating from 1879, his undated, small-format oil study “Blick von the Tellsteige nach St. Burkard ”clearly shows features of the new Impressionist style. Technique and themes of Stein can generally be located between late romanticism and impressionism. His preference was for an impressionistic view of forest and mountain landscapes with atmospheric natural phenomena, which he mainly depicted in the late romantic studio style. The new style of Impressionism, coming from France and also slowly gaining a foothold in Germany, can be identified in various of his works. But in a more conservative environment he did not want or could not come to a consistent application of this new painterly expression.

His significance as a hitherto largely undiscovered landscape painter for Main Franconia and beyond is not diminished.

Selection of works (paintings)

So far, 120 works by Stein are known. His oeuvre is certainly greater.

• In the Thuringian Forest . Lady sitting on a bench with a dog - in the background the Wartburg, 1878
• View from Judenbühlweg to fortress and city , 1879
• Forest landscape near Bad Tölz , 1880
• Roman elegy , around 1880
• Thunderstorm landscape near Tölz with Benediktenwand , 1885
• Lime mill near Tölz , 1887
• Landscape with Trees near Kleinsassen , 1892
• On Capri , 1892
• The sheep farm near Oberdürrbach , 1900
• View from the studio to the Marienberg fortress
• View from Tellsteige to St. Burkard
• Sand scoop on the Mainkai

literature

• Heiner Dikreiter : Art and Artists in Main Franconia - A Contribution to Main Franconian Art Creation in the 19th and 20th Century , Würzburg 1954 (Mainfränkische Hefte, Issue 18)
• Hanna Nogossek: Art Life in Lower Franconia in the 19th Century , Würzburg 1991 (Main Franconian Studies, Volume 50)
• Nicole Hegener: Heinrich Stein (1850-1913). A forgotten Würzburg painter , Mainfränkische Hefte, issue 99, (fundamentally with all references)

Web links

• Literature by and about Heinrich Stein in the catalog of the German National Library