Herluf Bidstrup
Herluf Bidstrup (actually Hans Christian Herluf Bidstrup), (born September 10, 1912 in Berlin , † December 26, 1988 in Allerød (north of Copenhagen)) was a German-Danish cartoonist .
Life
His father was a Dane living in Germany, the decorative painter Hermod Bidstrup. His mother was Augusta Emma Bertha Bidstrup, née Schmidt, a German.
In 1917 Herluf Bidstrup moved to Denmark with his parents. After studying art in Denmark and Berlin, he began to paint. From 1936 he worked for the Danish government newspaper Social Democrats , but also for other papers.
From 1945 he worked for the newspaper of the Danish Communist Party Land og Folk . From then on, he tried to spread communist ideas with political caricatures .
With a sharp pen, Bidstrup drew caricatures in which he targeted everyday situations, narrow-mindedness and human weaknesses. His drawings are characterized by a mix of satire, comedy and clarity. Most of them are completely text-free, which makes it easier to understand across language barriers. He drew hundreds of comic strips, which he put on a DIN A4 page.
In the GDR his caricatures appeared in the magazines Neue Berliner Illustrierte and Wochenpost . The Soviet government newspaper Pravda often made use of his political cartoons. But some of his apolitical caricatures also found circulation in the Soviet Union.
The Eulenspiegel-Verlag (GDR) published Bidstrup's work since the 1950s, including a 500-page book in 1974, Das dicke Bidstrup-Buch . It contains most of his comic strips, but also his typical caricatures critical of capitalism.
Herluf Bidstrup was drawn to Germany again and again (later to the GDR ). Study trips also took him to the Soviet Union and China.
In 1964 he was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize in Moscow . He remained closely connected to Germany and later to the GDR throughout his life.
Bidstrup was friends with the writer Martin Andersen Nexø , whom he also visited in his adopted home of Dresden .
Herluf Bidstrup was in the 60s of the 20th century by the Soviet press agency RIA Novosti (РИА Новости German Transcription: RIA Novosti) into a longer stay invited. He made numerous drawings there and added notes to many pictures . The news and press agency then published this graphic volume (184 pages) with its drawings and comments in various languages .
criticism
Bidstrup was under the influence of the labor movement and was turned towards communism. In his political caricatures, which were made up to his death, he portrayed the Soviet Union as the land of justice, human dignity and the struggle for peace, the aim of which is to create a just and humane society and to establish world peace. At the same time he strongly criticized the capitalist social order, especially the USA .
Bidstrup was accused of blindly and completely uncritically worshiping the Soviet Union and the communism it represented. With this questionable and completely unrealistic deification of the political system of the former Soviet Union, he put himself on the sidelines.
Like Martin Andersen Nexø, he was often scorned and scorned in Denmark. However, he was always able to achieve recognition with his apolitical caricatures. On the other hand, newspapers and magazines of the Eastern bloc published his political drawings. In states of the communist system of rule, including China, he regularly received honors, for example in Moscow in 1964 the International Lenin Peace Prize . Interest in his work has waned significantly since 1989, in line with social developments in the world. An exhibition of his works in Dresden planned for the end of 1989 did not take place due to the political change in the GDR. An attempt to exhibit his works in New York City in 2004 failed already in the initial phase.
Spreading his caricatures and illustrations today
Bidstrup has been completely forgotten outside of the former Soviet Union. His name is also almost unknown in Denmark. This may be due to his turning to communism and the Soviet Union (both from 1945 until his death) (see criticism ).
In Denmark, the Workers' Museum in Copenhagen uses his political caricatures.
In Germany, his works, that is, the books with his caricatures and illustrations, are currently not published and are out of trade.
Fan sites on the Internet that show his caricatures can now be found mainly in Russia .
Works (selection)
- "Bid og Vid" , Forlaget Tiden Copenhagen 1940–1982.
- Illustrations for “Three Little Girls” , children's book publisher Berlin 1953.
- Reports with a pencil , Verlag der Kunst Dresden 1954. (Translation by Ellen Schou )
- Clever and mischievous , Eulenspiegel Verlag Berlin 1955.
- Laid out and laughed at , Eulenspiegelverlag Berlin 1955.
- China trip , Verlag der Kunst Dresden 1956. (Translation by Ellen Schou)
- Ideas and failures , Eulenspiegel Verlag Berlin 1957.
- In the Soviet Union publishing house Novosti Moscow press agency 1968.
- The thick Bidstrup book , Eulenspiegel Verlag Berlin 1974.
Web links
- Herluf Bidstrup (comic imports into the GDR)
- Bidstrup page on the pages of the caricature museum in Kalundborg / Denmark
- Literature by and about Herluf Bidstrup in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bidstrup, Herluf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Danish cartoonist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 10, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 26, 1988 |
| Place of death | Allerød |