Hermann Gretsch

Hermann Gretsch (born November 17, 1895 in Augsburg , † May 29, 1950 in Stuttgart ) was a German designer .

Life

After studying architecture at the Technical University of Stuttgart under Paul Bonatz and Paul Schmitthenner , Hermann Gretsch passed his journeyman's examination as a ceramist at the Stuttgart School of Applied Arts in 1923 . In 1928 he wrote his dissertation on the technical characteristics of south German faience factories .

From 1930 he held a leading position in the Stuttgart State Trade Office and worked in the Association of German Designers . In the same year, Gretsch began working for the Arzberg porcelain factory . He remained its artistic director until his death.

As a member of the Nazi party took over the management of the Gretsch 1935 conformist Werkbund of Carl Christoph Lörcher . Many important members, however, had spoken out in favor of dissolving the federal government. In 1940 he was promoted to Reich Commissioner for the German contribution to the VII Triennale in Milan. In the monthly Schwaben he drew a largely sober balance, followed by the final words:

“Due to the will to live awakened with the national uprising, the German people, who in the last few years have developed their eternal, inner values ​​in the struggle for their rights to live, will also serve progress in [the area of ​​living]. "

At the same time he was appointed director of the Stuttgart School of Applied Arts and, in 1941, deputy director of the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart . In 1942 he became a member of the Academy for Housing and the Reich Committee for Cultural Factory Design in Crafts . Gretsch was able to offer himself to the new regime so seamlessly because his creative ideas in no way contradicted the National Socialists' gradually established taste buds . Professionally, he was able to expand his position in Schönwald and Arzberg: In 1943 he was elected to the supervisory board of the Kahla Group.

Hermann Gretsch was on the Nazi state's “ God-gifted list ”.

After 1945 there was no self-criticism. He settled in Stuttgart as a freelance architect and headed the new beginning of the Arzberg porcelain manufactory. After the early death of Gretsch, Heinrich Löffelhardt succeeded him as artistic director in Arzberg.

In November 2012 a memorial was dedicated to Hermann Gretsch in Schönwald . The marble figure shows his "Form 98", which Gretsch designed for the Schönwald porcelain factory , and the designer's face.

Arzberg Form 1382

Coffee pot shape 1382

Form 1382 with red border

In 1931 Hermann Gretsch designed the coffee and table service in 1382 for the Arzberg porcelain factory. It is considered a prime example of a timelessly simple, clear shape. It set itself apart from the shapes and decors in the Rococo and Art Deco styles that were customary up to now. On the other hand, Gretsch distanced himself from experimental and modernist forms. The Fachamt Deutsches Handwerks in the German Labor Front praised such designs for their “timelessness”. For the form 1382 he received the gold medal of the VI. Triennial of Milan (1936). In 1950 the Museum of Modern Art , New York, included it in its “Good Design” exhibition.

With the Form 1382, Gretsch introduced a trend reversal in industrial porcelain manufacture. The new design language was a considerable risk for Arzberg, as it was not foreseeable whether the existing customer base would accept such a simple, purely functional tableware. Gretsch rejected a decor for design reasons: “From a usage point of view, undecorated tableware, whose shape may be underlined with a simple line, is undoubtedly the most beautiful.” For commercial considerations, however, several decors were offered. At the same time, the concept of a "collective crockery" was developed, which a private household could complete over the years, depending on the budget situation. Today this principle has become indispensable in the industry.

Building on the New Objectivity of the 1920s, other colleagues also designed services in a simple form, including Georg A. Mathéy with Form 760 (Rosenthal 1928), Marguerite Friedlaender with the “Halle” service (KPM 1929), Trude Petri with Urbino (KPM 1931) or Wilhelm Wagenfeld with form 639 (Fürstenberg 1934). Form 1382 is one of the classics of German product design, it is still produced today.

Other well-known designs

• 1930s: Schönwald Form 111
• 1930s: Arzberg Form 1350
• 1931: Arzberg Form 1382
• 1936: Schönwald Form 98, hotel porcelain service
• 1938: Arzberg Form 1495
• 1938: Arzberg Form 1840
• 1947/48: C. Hugo Pott model 81

Quotes

"Every new form should be a criticism of the existing, because it is only valid if it proves to be more practical and more beautiful than the existing."

“It is wrong to keep pointing out the contrasts between industry and craft. Let us rather differentiate between good and bad products. "

“We want neither the 'old' nor the 'new', but the true, the real, the functional. Our apartments are neither shop window systems, nor magazines, nor museums. The objects that we need shouldn't want to introduce something convulsively, but rather help to create a natural and healthy environment with their purpose-related beauty. "

"Designing means educating, because every creative work is a piece of wisdom."

Fonts

• The faience factory in Crailsheim. , Stuttgart 1928.
• The VII Triennial . In: Swabia. Monthly books for people and culture 12 (1940), pp. 475-480.
• Bernhard Pankok in memory . Speech given on the occasion of the matriculation ceremony of the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart on May 14, 1943, undated [Stuttgart] undated [1943].

literature

• The lasting value of modern forms. On the 10th anniversary of Dr. Herman Gretsch . In: Porzellan und Glas, May 1960, pp. 35–37. Facsimile in: Carlo Burschel, Heinrich Löffelhardt , Bremen 2004, ISBN 3-89757-184-6 , pp. 494–496.
• Marc Cremer-Thursby: Design of the thirties and forties in Germany. Hermann Gretsch, architect and designer , Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. 1996 (Dissertation University of Bonn), ISBN 3-631-48542-5 .
• Tim Morris: "Good form" as a business principle. Dr. Hermann Gretsch and his collaboration with the Arzberg porcelain factory . In: Carlo Burschel, Heinrich Löffelhardt , Bremen 2004.
• Wilhelm Siemen (Ed.): 100 Years of the Arzberg Porcelain Factory 1887–1987. Exhibition on the economic, social, advertising and style history of a company , Hohenberg an der Eger 1987, pp. 66–71.
• Heinz-J. Theis (Ed.): The timeless form. Porcelain and ceramics by Hermann Gretsch . Exhibition catalog Keramik-Museum Berlin, Berlin 2011.
• Sabine Weißler: Design in Germany 1933-45: Aesthetics and organization of the German Werkbund in the "Third Reich" , Giessen 1990, ISBN 3-87038-146-9 .

Web links

• Coffee service "1382", Bröhan Museum Berlin
• Arzberg designer Arzberg porcelain

Individual evidence

1. ^ Heinrich Ihme (edit.): Southwest German personalities , part 1, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1988, p. 296. Bibliography of Württemberg history, edit. v. Wilhelm Heyd, Stuttgart 1895–1974, Volume 10.
2. ^ Chronicle from 1933 Deutscher Werkbund eV, accessed on October 14, 2017.
3. ↑ Cf. Gerda Breuer: Willi Moegle. Die Sachfotografie , Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2004, ISBN 3-7757-1409-X .
4. ^ Hermann Gretsch: The VII. Triennale . In: Swabia. Monthly books for people and culture 12 (1940), pp. 475-480, p. 480.
5. ↑ Ernst Klee : Kulturlexikon zum Third Reich: Who was what before and after 1945 . Revised edition, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-17153-8 , p. 178
6. ↑ Andreas Godawa: a symbol of a classic , Frankenpost.de, November 12, 2012
7. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Johann Klöcker (Red.): A form that makes history. Arzberg 1382 , ed. from Porzellanfabrik Arzberg, Arzberg 1981.
9. ↑ Tim Morris: Hermann Gretsch . 75 years Arzberg 1382. 2006, ISBN 3-9811113-0-3 , p. 27 .
10. ↑ Tim Morris: Hermann Gretsch . 75 years Arzberg 1382. 2006, ISBN 3-9811113-0-3 , p. 31 .
11. ↑ On the lasting value of modern forms . On the 10th anniversary of Dr. Hermann Gretsch. In: porcelain and glass . May 1960, p. 35-37 .
12. ↑ On the lasting value of modern forms . On the 10th anniversary of Dr. Hermann Gretsch. In: porcelain and glass . May 1960, p. 35-37 .