Heinz Lilienthal
Heinz Lilienthal (born April 25, 1927 in Neidenburg in East Prussia ; † June 6, 2006 in Javea , Spain ) was one of the pioneering German glass painters for church building in the post-war years. In addition, he designed wall decorations in metal , wood and concrete , furnished ships for the Greek shipowners Aristoteles Onassis and Stavros Niarchos and eventually became a successful designer of table furniture.
Life
Lilienthal's first career aspiration was a naval officer, so he entered the navy and subsequently attended the Mürwik naval school . During the Second World War he experienced, among other things, the bombing raids on Kiel and Wilhelmshaven . He belonged to the generation of young men who were sent by the Wehrmacht to the hopeless defensive battles in Pomerania and the Battle of Berlin . Eventually he was taken prisoner by the British . After the war, the Lilienthals family, who had fled East Prussia, gathered in Bremen , where the oldest brother offered a place to go. He had found a job in the Hanseatic city during peacetime . Lilienthal started drawing here. His drawings and watercolors soon found lovers in bartering a sketch of the postwar River Weser acquired against kilograms of potatoes or a dozen eggs.
education
After an internship in construction, Lilienthal became a student at the State Art School founded in 1946 - master school for the creative handicraft . Before the semester could begin, lecturers and students cleared the rubble of the building that had been damaged in the war. Lilienthal's teachers were Walter Ohlsen and August Welp, who taught drawing, painting and “decorative painting”. Lilienthal was the only student who decided to study glass painting .
Entry into the profession
Lilienthal applied for his first job in 1949 while still a student. It was about the repair of the window of the Protestant parish in his hometown Bremen-Blumenthal, which was destroyed in the war . A meeting with the consistorial master builder of the Evangelical Church in Hanover , the architect Ernst Witt (1898–1971), turned out to be groundbreaking for Lilienthal for the future. Witt was looking for young artists who could satisfy the parishes' desire for modern and yet spiritual church windows. Lilienthal then declared his studies over. He set up his first office in the Bremer Händelstraße, in the house of the parents of a fellow student and later wife.
plant
Lilienthal went into business for himself and founded the atelier for church art in Bremen-Lesum in 1952 . For the production of the church windows he used both the classic lead glazing and the concrete glazing technology that was only developed in the first half of the 20th century . The latter was to acquire greater significance for his work. Stylistically, representational as well as completely abstract representations are present in his work, even in a single building in harmonious coexistence.
In addition to the stained glass, Lilienthal developed other creative fields of activity. He created mosaics, designed table furniture and, since the 1960s, has been experimenting with the materials metal, concrete, natural stone and wood for large-scale wall designs, both indoors and outdoors. He found an artistic expression that thrives on the contrast between circular and linear forms as well as light and dark materials. His innovative metal smelting work earned him recognition at home and abroad.
Stained glass
His first work was created in Bremen in collaboration with the architect Eberhard Gildemeister . These were the windows of the Methodist Church of the Redeemer in Bremen- Schwachhausen and the Rembertikirche . In 1952 he created windows for St. New Year's Eve in Quakenbrück , in Bremerhaven for the Pauluskirche in Lehe and the Christ Church in Bremerhaven-Geestemünde . In 1956 in Kiel he designed the windows of the Nikolaikirche, rebuilt by the architect Gerhard Langmaack, with the stained glass "The sinking Peter ".
Other works:
- Evangelical Church in Bergkamen
- Church of St. Petrus in Quakenbrück – Neustadt
- Cemetery chapel in Vahlde
- Baptistery of the Evangelical Church in Altenhagen
- Cemetery chapel in Wagenfeld
- Retirement home in Seesen
- Evangelical island church on Spiekeroog
- Entrance hall of the Bremen Chamber of Crafts
- Martin Luther Church in Hanover- Ahlem
- Church in Bad Oeynhausen - Dehme
- Evangelical Church in Wehrda near Marburg
- Petruskirche in Ovelgönne near Hambühren
- Lobetalarbeit, homes and facilities for the disabled e. V. in Celle
- Federal Biological Institute for Agriculture and Forestry in Braunschweig
- Stephanskirche in Schenefeld (Pinneberg district)
- Jakobi Church in Rinteln
- Chancel of the Felicianus Church in Kirchweyhe
- East gable wall of the church in Nordwohlde
- Evangelical Paul Gerhardt Church in Unna-Königsborn
- St. Petri Church in Wilstedt
- Christ Chapel in Soltendieck
mosaic
In addition to glass painting, Lilienthal worked on mosaics , for example for the Christ Church in Spradow near Bielefeld and the church of Leybuchtpolder , North District (East Frisia) .
Wood inlays
- Sparkasse in Bremen-Lesum
- Motorway service station Oldenburg- Wardenburg
Metal walls
The Greek shipping companies Onassis and Niarchos were looking for fireproof solutions for the interior fittings of ships. Lilienthal designed design elements for the interior for its luxury liners made of steel and metal-coated materials. He subsequently used metal as an artistic material for design on land.
- Nuremberg City Park (1970)
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt , Braunschweig
- University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover , three-person institute
Natural stone
- Landesversicherungsanstalt in Hannover: outer wall in the entrance area
- Elisabeth School Marburg (1978)
- Knappschaft Hospital in Recklinghausen (1982)
Sculptures
- Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hanover (1978)
Reliefs in concrete
- Outer wall of the Lesum barrier in Bremen
- Sparkasse Versmold
- Church in Bremen-Ellenerbrook
Table design
Lilienthal also made a name for himself as a designer / constructor of table furniture for companies.
estate
The artistic legacy of Lilienthal was donated to the “Forum for Legacies of Artists e. V., Hamburg ”.
Exhibitions
Since 1950 Lilienthal has participated in numerous exhibitions, around 1964 in the international special show “The best glass picture”.
- Heinz Lilienthal (1927-2006). Art in construction in glass, stone, concrete and metal. Künstlerhaus Sootbörn , Hamburg (Organizer: Forum for the bequests of artists ). June 7th to June 28th, 2009.
Honors
- 1965 Bavarian State Prize and Gold Medal
- 1970 Sparkasse Bremen Prize
literature
- Werner Kloos : Heinz Lilienthal. Career and work. Design in glass, stone and metal. Schünemann Verlag , Bremen 1985, ISBN 3-7961-1764-3 .
Web links
- Artist page at the forum for artists' estates
- Trinity Church
- Hameln market church
- Artist's website at the Research Center for 20th Century Glass Painting
- Heinz Lilienthal on kunst-im-oefflichen-raum-bremen.de (with a photo)
Individual evidence
- ↑ trinitatis-kirche.de Detailed report on the design of the church window in Marburg-Wehrda
- ↑ Christian Wiechel-Kramüller: churches, monasteries and chapels in the district of Uelzen . WIEKRA Edition, Bahn-Media Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Suhlendorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-940189-14-1 , p. 142-144 .
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Lilienthal, Heinz |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German glass painter and designer |
DATE OF BIRTH | April 25, 1927 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Neidenburg , East Prussia |
DATE OF DEATH | June 6, 2006 |
Place of death | Javea , Spain |