Jean Lehmann

Jean Lehmann (born May 12, 1885 in Dagmersellen / LU; † February 23, 1969 in Zurich ) was a Swiss painter , graphic artist and sculptor .

Life

Lehmann was born on May 12, 1885 in Dagmersellen / LU. At the request of his parents, he had to complete training in hotel management. After graduating from commercial school , he attended the arts and crafts school in Lucerne and studied for two semesters in 1907 at the Accademia di belle arti di Venezia and in 1910 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Julius Diez ( commercial graphics), among others . In order to earn a living, he worked as a museum clerk in the glacier garden in Lucerne, where he made the acquaintance of his wife. They married in 1911 and had a daughter and a son. As a result of illness, the young couple moved to St. Moritz in 1912 , where they lived until 1922. During this period, many works were created that reflect the landscapes of the Engadine .

Many of Lehmann's pictures were based on the motifs he encountered on his extended hikes and mountain tours. In order to support the young family financially, he gave in the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz - among other things also prominent guests such as B. Sonja Henie - figure skating lessons. In the years after the First World War, tourism was in a crisis and the public, which on the one hand bought pictures and on the other hand took figure skating lessons, stayed away and they had to reorient themselves. Therefore, Lehmann moved with his family near Munich; to Augustenfeld (Rothschwaige) - which is located in the Dachauer Moos and today belongs to Dachau - where he became aware of the local artists 'colony during his student years at the Munich Art Academy and he soon integrated himself as a member of the new artists' association and, among other things, in the Munich Glass Palace, as well as at exhibitions of the Dachau artists' colony (including in Dachau Castle ).

On July 6, 1931, the Munich Glass Palace burned down completely and pictures by Jean Lehmann also fell victim to the flames. During his years in Munich, too, he repeatedly traveled to St. Moritz to paint. In 1936 he moved back to Switzerland with his family and settled in Zurich . On his travels within Europe he continued to create various works in oil, watercolor , chalk and charcoal. Lehmann died on February 23, 1969 at the age of 84 in Zurich.

plant

In particular, Lehmann painted landscapes, depictions of rural and village life, figurative compositions and still lifes, portraits in a wide variety of techniques (oil, watercolor, pastel , chalk / charcoal drawings) as well as etchings , wood / linocuts , copper / steel engravings .

A Swiss art historian describes his work as follows:

• "Special lighting moods between the radiant light of a winter's day or the dark of the night as well as a nuanced, subtle, sometimes even violent color are characteristic."
• "Views of Sils , Champfèr , Silvaplana or St. Moritz are also important as a contemporary document that should not be underestimated."

Lehmann achieved his first success when he created the diorama picture St. Moritz in winter for the Swiss National Exhibition in 1914 , which was exhibited in the “Sport und Touristik” pavilion and which in an article by the Swiss family dated June 27, 1914 as “one of the most outstanding Sights »has been described. While visiting the national exhibition, Jean Lehmann became aware of some women in traditional costumes, which inspired him to create a series of watercolors and chalk drawings of various Swiss costumes .

In St. Moritz, besides oil paintings and watercolors, poster designs were also created; Graphic designs for tourism posters, including for the Bally shoes company, the tourism association and various sporting events such as figure skating, tennis, football, greyhound and motorcycle races and golf. He became a member of the Società Artistica Engiadina at an early age, and his pictures were regularly displayed in the community hall together with works by Giovanni Giacometti , Augusto Giacometti , Giovanni Segantini , Cunot Amiet , Edgar Vital , Ferdinand Hodler , Peter Robert Berry , Christian Conradin , Carl von Salis and others issued by St. Moritz.

To avoid confusion with artists same or avoid similar name, signed Jean Lehmann, his works often with JLL or JLLS ( J ean L ehmann L uzern St. Moritz / Switzerland).

Lehmann's works are owned by the Bündner Kunstmuseum in Chur, the Lucerne Art Museum , the Fundaziun Capauliana in Chur, and the Dachau picture gallery . His pictures have also been shown at exhibitions in Berlin, Darmstadt and Paris.

Exhibitions

• 1913–1921: Kunsthaus Zürich , group exhibitions
• 1917: Kunsthalle Basel , exhibition by the Swiss Society. Painter and sculptor
• 1919: Painting exhibition by Engadin artists, Volkshaussaal, Chur
• 1923–1936: His works were shown variously in exhibitions in the Munich Secession and in the Munich Glass Palace .
• 1928: Kunsthaus Zürich: Participation in the XVII. National art exhibition
• 1929: Kunstmuseum Luzern : rotating exhibition of the Swiss Art Association
• 1929: Kunstmuseum Winterthur : rotating exhibition of the Swiss Art Association
• 1930/1931: Dachau Castle; Summer art exhibition
• 1931: Munich Glass Palace
• 1934: Kunsthaus Luzern, rotating exhibition of the Swiss Art Association
• From 1936, after his return to Switzerland, he continued to take part in various exhibitions a. a. participated in the Kunsthaus Zurich.
• 1943: Kongresshaus Zurich , April 5 - 24, 1943 (graphic works)
• 1945 Kongresshaus Zurich, overview exhibition with a selection of his paintings, graphics and sculptures from the last thirty years
• 1973: Small gallery, Chur, Jean Lehmann memorial exhibition
• 2015: St. Moritz, ASTE gallery; Exhibition "Engadine Landscapes" (August 8 - September 16, 2015)
• 2016/2017: Fundaziun Capauliana , Chur: Engadin, hobby, passion, painter. (September 2016 - January 2017)

literature

• Fundaziun Capauliana - Bünder Bildarchiv
• General artist lexicon. Online version, artist ID: 00051221.
• Switzerland. 1911, p. 319 (ill.)
• Swiss Family (1914), no.35, June 27, 1914.
• Lehmann, Jean. In: Carl Brun: Swiss Artist Lexicon . Volume 4, Huber, Frauenfeld 1917, p. 279 and p. 552 ( archive.org ).
• Lehmann, Jean . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 3 : K-P . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1956.
• Herbert Gröger: Pro arte et libris. In: International art magazine. No. 12, April 1943, p. 92.
• The Free Councilor. In: Daily newspaper for Graubünden. No. 127, June 2, 1973.
• Horst Heres: Dachau Picture Gallery. Bayerland, Dachau 1985, pp. 155, 157, 279.
• Horst Ludwig: Munich painter in the 19th century, (Volume 6). Bruckmann; Munich 1994, p. 16.
• Bärbel Schäfer: Selected works from the Dachau artist colony. 2010, ISBN 978-3-89251-405-3 , pp. 142-147.
• Aste auctions, St. Moritz: Jean Lehmann “Engadine Landscapes”. (Catalog for the exhibition from August 8 to September 16, 2015).
• Beat Stutzer: Jean Lehmann - a painter from the Engadine. (Catalog for the exhibition “Engadine Landscapes” from August 8 to September 16, 2015).
• In: PIZ, magazine for the Engadin and the southern Graubünden valleys. No. 49, summer 2015, p. 38.
• The artist Jean Lehmann. In: Engadiner Post. September 10, 2015.

Web links

• Lehmann, Jean. In: Sikart
• jean-lehmann.ch
• Jean Lehmann at eArt.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ Exhibitions in 1921. On the website of the Kunsthaus Zürich, accessed on January 29, 2018.
2. ↑ Exhibition catalog on the website of the Swiss Art Association, accessed on January 29, 2018.
3. ↑ Exhibition catalog on the website of the Swiss Art Association, accessed on January 29, 2018.
4. ^ Andreas Kreutzkam: Directory of the castle exhibitions. P. 2f. (PDF) On the website of the KVD gallery, accessed on January 29, 2018.
5. ↑ Rediscovered: artist Jean Lehmann. Engadiner Post website , accessed on January 29, 2018.
6. ↑ Jean Lehmann. Engadine. Hobby. Passion. Painter. Exhibition website, accessed January 29, 2018.