Hermann Fischer (photographer)

Hermann Fischer (born November 2, 1885 in Braunschweig ; † June 8, 1975 ibid), also Hermann Fischer-Braunschweig and Hermann Fischer-Wahrenholz , was a German nature and animal photographer and graphic artist .

life and work

Fischer was born at 27 Kannengießerstraße . His father was a shoemaker , his mother came from the small village Mönchevahlberg , 20 km southeast of Braunschweig. Between 1900 and 1904 he completed an apprenticeship as a decorative painter , but contracted turpentine poisoning , so he had to break off the training. He found a job as a poster painter in the Wilhelm Klopp department store . The Klopp department store had its own photo studio . One day Fischer is said to have stepped in for the absent house photographer, because he was the only one with photography experience, and took a photo of the Braunschweig writer Ricarda Huch . During his time as a poster painter at Klopp, Fischer also worked privately as a landscape painter, exhibited his work and sold quite a few because of the positive response.

Thanks to a scholarship Ernst August , the last Guelph -Herzogs on the throne of the Duchy of Braunschweig , and a grant from the Georg-Westermann Foundation Fischer was the School of Applied Arts (forerunner of today's University of Fine Arts Braunschweig visit). His teachers included u. a. Hans Herse and Johannes Leitzen . One of his sponsors was Georg Zeidler , professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig .

Originally, Fischer had intended to continue his studies at the Weimar School of Applied Arts under Fritz Mackensen , but this prevented his participation in the First World War , during which he was seriously wounded in 1917. After returning to Braunschweig, he found a job as a commercial graphic artist at the commercial vehicle manufacturer Büssing .

Graphic artist for Büssing

The Büssing logo designed by Fischer: the stylized Braunschweig lion in the national colors of blue and yellow.

During his time at Büssing, Fischer designed a new logo as a brand for the automobile company in the early 1920s - a stylized Braunschweig lion in the colors of the old Duchy of Braunschweig , blue and yellow. On June 10, 1923 Automobilwerke H. Büssing AG had Fischer's version protected under trademark law. The logo can still be seen in a modified form on the commercial vehicles of the Büssing successor MAN .

Wildlife and landscape photographer

Voigtländer - bellows camera type "Bergheil" from 1932. Fischer made many of his pictures with this type.

With the support of Hermann Meerwarth , director of the Natural History Museum in Braunschweig , Fischer turned more and more to animal photography. It was Meerwarth who introduced Fischer to the “ heath poet ” Hermann Löns in 1912 . Fischer subsequently illustrated numerous books by Löns with photographs of the heather fauna and flora .

In 1923 Fischer finally went freelance as a photographer. His work received international attention from the 1930s. For his animal photos, which he u. a. made with a Voigtlander of the "Bergheil" type, he developed new recording techniques and camouflage devices in order to get as close as possible to the animals without disturbing them. His photos received worldwide attention when they were shown in the Natural History Museum in London . In 1926, Fischer won first prize for his design of a memorial to the fallen for the city of Bad Harzburg .

Fischer illustrated numerous works by other authors (including the Finnish edition of Brehms Tierleben ) and published more than 30 books himself, including his most famous animal hunt with the camera in 1936 (a new edition published in 1952 under the title Pirsch ohne Büchse ).

Honors

On December 20, 1963, Fischer was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class . He also became a conservation officer for the location in close proximity to his home reserve Sacred Grove appointed.

By the Association of American hunting and fishing associations in Europe Fischer for his photos in the magazine "Rod and Gun" ([fishing] rods and bushings) awarded the Medal of Merit in gold.

Private life

Hermann Fischer was married to Thea Plaat from 1920. During the Second World War , the couple moved from Braunschweig to Wahrenholz , 45 km north , where they lived until they moved back to Braunschweig in 1966. The couple last lived in the Heidberg district . Hermann Fischer died on June 8, 1975 in Braunschweig.

estate

Gerd Lange, owner of a famous Brunswick Photo Business succeeded shortly after Fischer's death, 5000 photographs from the estate to purchase of Fischer's heirs in order to preserve them for posterity. Lange then organized a retrospective together with the Braunschweig Museum of Photography . Fischer's photographic estate is now kept in the Braunschweig Municipal Museum .

literature

• Heinz Eichhorn: Hermann Fischer, the old master of animal photography on his 90th birthday. In: Braunschweigische Heimat 1975. Volume 61, Issue 1, Waisenhaus-Buchdruckerei, Braunschweig 1975, pp. 25–29.
• Heinz Eichhorn: His job was a calling. In: Braunschweigischer Kalender 1987. Joh. Heinr. Mayer, Braunschweig 1986, pp. 45-51.
• Walter Fanger: Hermann Fischer, the great animal photographer, was 80 years old. In: Braunschweigische Heimat 1965. Volume 51, Issue 4, Waisenhaus-Buchdruckerei, Braunschweig 1965, pp. 108–110.
• Bernd Jericho: Fischer, Hermann. In: Luitgard Camerer , Manfred Garzmann , Wolf-Dieter Schuegraf (eds.): Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon . Joh. Heinr. Meyer Verlag, Braunschweig 1992, ISBN 3-926701-14-5 , p. 72 .
• Barbara Klössel-Luckhardt: Industrial trademarks in the Braunschweig region. In: Jörg Leuschner , Karl Heinrich Kaufhold , Claudia Märtl (Hrsg.): The economic and social history of the Braunschweigisches Land from the Middle Ages to the present. Volume 3: Modern Times. Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 2008, ISBN 978-3-487-13599-1 , pp. 800-830.
• Bergit Korschan-Kuhle: Fischer, Hermann. In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Günter Scheel (ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 19th and 20th centuries . Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 , p. 178 .
• Heinz Mollenhauer : Hermann Fischer-Wahrenholz on his 80th birthday. In: District calendar for Gifhorn-Isenhagen : A home book for the year 1965. Domizlaff, Wittingen 1964, pp. 78–79.

Web links

• "A trademark worldwide" in the Altmark newspaper on October 25, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rolf H. Krauss , Frank Heidtmann and Hans-Joachim Bresemann: Die deutsche Photoliteratur 1839–1978. Theory, technology, image performance, a systematic bibliography of independent German-language photographic literature. Saur, Munich 1980, p. 390.
2. ^ ^{A b} Heinz Mollenhauer: Hermann Fischer-Wahrenholz on his 80th birthday. P. 78.
3. ^ ^{A b} Heinz Eichhorn: His job was a calling. P. 46.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Heinz Eichhorn: Hermann Fischer, the old master of animal photography on his 90th birthday. P. 26.
5. ^ ^{A b c} Heinz Eichhorn: His job was a calling. P. 48.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Walter Fanger: Hermann Fischer, the great animal photographer, was 80 years old. P. 109.
7. ↑ Barbara Klössel-Luckhardt: Industrial trademarks in the Braunschweig region. P. 803.
8. ↑ Heinz Eichhorn: Hermann Fischer, the old master of animal photography on his 90th birthday. P. 25.
9. ↑ Barbara Klössel-Luckhardt: Industrial trademarks in the Braunschweig region. P. 805.
10. ↑ Walter Fanger: Hermann Fischer, the great animal photographer, was 80 years old. P. 110.
11. ↑ ^{a b c d} Heinz Eichhorn: Hermann Fischer, the old master of animal photography on his 90th birthday. P. 28.
12. ↑ Heinz Eichhorn: Hermann Fischer, the old master of animal photography on his 90th birthday. P. 27.
13. ↑ Heinz Eichhorn: His job was a calling. P. 51.
14. ↑ Heinz Eichhorn: His job was a calling. P. 45.