Irmin Henkel

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A signature from Irmin Henkel, 1976

Irmin Henkel (born January 29, 1921 near Hanover , † September 6, 1977 in Pretoria , South Africa ) was a South African painter .

Life

Irmin Henkel was of German descent. From 1939 to 1946 he studied medicine and took part in the German armed forces in World War II .

Henkel was a self-taught artist who painted and drew in his spare time during his studies and military service. In 1943 he took part in the organization of a painting exhibition by medical students in Bonn, where he received his first portrait commissions. In 1947 he practiced as a doctor for orthopedic surgery for a year, but then devoted himself entirely to painting, which at that time had mostly abstract features. From 1948 to 1951 he lived in Ascona , Switzerland , where, influenced by the work of the painter Karl Schmidt-Rottluff , he turned to landscape painting.

Postage stamps in memory of Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, 1966

In 1951, Henkel moved to South Africa, where he received his license to practice medicine in 1953 and then practiced in Pretoria. Here he created a portrait of the then Prime Minister Daniel François Malan , through which he quickly gained fame as a portraitist and received numerous commissions from private and public authorities. After the death of Prime Minister Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd in 1966, Henkel designed a number of South African commemorative stamps. In 1969, after four years of work, he completed one of his large commissioned paintings depicting the 19 members of the first cabinet of the Republic of South Africa from 1961. He spent a few months in Europe and studied works by Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci . The painting hangs in the dining room of the House of Assembly of South Africa , along with a painting by painter Edward Roworth entitled National Convention . Other works by Henkel are now in the Pietersburg Collection of the Pretoria Art Museum and in the Lichtenburg library .

The “court portraitist” of the South African government turned away from portrait work in 1970 and now chose still lifes , nudes and landscapes as motifs. He returned to full-time painting after greatly reducing his medical work. In 1977 Irmin Henkel died suddenly and unexpectedly in Pretoria.

Exhibitions

  • First solo exhibition, Bonn 1946
  • First solo exhibition in South Africa, Pretoria 1951
  • Van Riebeeck Tercent Art Exhibition , Cape Town 1952
  • Second Quad of South African Art , 1960
  • Republic Festival Exhibition , Pretoria 1966
  • Prestige exhibition , Pretoria Art Museum, 1966
  • Exhibition of landscapes and still lifes , South African Association of Arts, Pretoria 1972
  • The Art of the Portrait , Pretoria Art Museum 1977
  • Memorial Tribute , Pretoria Art Museum 1978

Honors

In the Die Wilgers district of Pretoria, Irmin Henkel Street was named after the artist.

literature

  • EJ Verwey (Ed.): New Dictionary of South African Biography. Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria 1995, Foreword by Nelson R. Mandela, p. 340.
  • Esme Berman: Art and Artists of South Africa. Southern Book Publishers, Halfway House, Midrand 1992.
  • Margot Henkel, Karin Skawran: Irmin Henkel. Butterworths, 1983, ISBN 0-40910-480-9 , 187 pp.

Web links

Commons : Irmin Henkel  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gwen van Embden: Parliamentary Millennium Project: Artwork Labels and Information. In: gwenvanembden.com
  2. ↑ Growth. Journal of Development in Southern Africa. Issues 5-6, Corporation for Economic Development, 1985, p. 21.
  3. ↑ Irmin Henkel St., Die Wilgers, Pretoria, 0184, South Africa. In: google.de/maps
personal data
SURNAME Henkel, Irmin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 29, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH near Hanover
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 1977
Place of death Pretoria , South Africa