Jean Schmitz (painter)

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Jean Schmitz (born May 14, 1912 in Düren ; † February 25, 1999 ibid) was a German painter , graphic artist and calligrapher of classical modernism . He himself described his style as " Impressionist Realism ", in which high-contrast and colorful paintings were created. In his work he combined handicraft skills and training according to academic specifications to create a distinctive oeuvre based on his own color theories.

Life

Jean Schnitz was born the son of brewer Mathias August Schmitz and his wife Helene Maria (née Flossdorf). After completing his apprenticeship as a painter (1926–1928), Schmitz received his first academic training at the Bauhaus Dessau (art, design and architecture) from 1928/1929 , of which Walter Gropius was director. He completed his further training at the Cologne Art School (1934–1938) and at the "Academy for Design" in Aachen. (1988-1991).

As a contemporary of the 20th century with two world wars, he experienced the ups and downs of his generation, although in his own words he “never gave up hope for a better future”. Between the wars he made study trips to Germany, Switzerland and Italy. From 1940 to 1945 he was a soldier in the German Wehrmacht . When he returned to his hometown of Düren, which was destroyed by Allied bombing, he took part in the artistic reconstruction.

Work and action

Schmitz's publicly accessible works included a wall painting in the Düren station building as early as 1938 . In 1946 he completed a wall painting in the boardroom of the historic courthouse in his hometown. In 1947, the Anna-Notkirche was painted with the portal of the memorial chapel.

He imparted his artistic knowledge to the young post-war generation during his teaching activities from 1949 to 1962 at the vocational school in Düren and as a lecturer in font design at the adult education center. Since 1950, his main occupation has been color and room design in sacred and secular buildings. The transition to drawings of mostly damaged and destroyed historical buildings corresponded to logic. A mature work finally emerged through his cooperation with the Museum Europäische Kunst ( Nörvenich Castle , Düren district, North Rhine-Westphalia), which promoted his international artistic reputation in Western Europe and in the USA. It posthumously continues the cultural work that unites people.

Part of Jean Schmitz's artistic estate was given to the Düren City Museum in anticipation of a permanent exhibition.

Exhibitions

During his lifetime, the artist's work was shown in over 120 solo and group exhibitions at home and abroad. This included the following presentations (selection of solo exhibitions):

  • 1997 Museum of European Art: Jean Schmitz 85 years
  • 1996 Stadtsparkasse Düren - Art helps people
  • 1993 Gothaer Kunstforum, Cologne: Art for CURA
  • 1992 Art Museum Nörvenich (North Rhine-Westphalia): Clowns for UNICEF (large exhibition for the 80th birthday)
  • 1989 40 years of the Basic Law. Galerie Poppelsdorfer Allee, Federal Capital Bonn, (Patronage of the President of the Bundestag Rita Süssmuth)
  • 1987 NRW-Kunstkreis: Special exhibition for the 75th birthday, Nörvenich Castle
  • 1966 and the following years numerous exhibitions in Aachen, Berlin, Bonn, Düren, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Liège, Paris, USA (Museum of European Art, Clarence, New York)

honors and awards

  • Member of the Alexander Order Pour le Mérite for Art and Science (France / USA), 1992
  • Golden master craftsman's certificate from the painters' guild (NRW), 1989
  • Federal Cross of Merit, 1987
  • Honorary member of the Artist Circle European Culture Foundation (Germany), Nörvenich Castle, (1985)
  • Diplomas for participation in the 1936 Summer Olympics cultural competition (Berlin) and the Paris World Exhibition in 1937

literature

  • Ulrike Mühlbauer: Jean Schmitz “Breton Sketches”, (Ed.), Museum European Art / Marco Edition Bonn-Paris-New York, 1997. ISBN 3-925176-09-8 .
  • Rita Süssmuth : "Stilles Reifen - Hommage a Jean Schmitz", Atelier-Edition Tolbiac, Nörvenich Castle (1992)
  • Uta Ranke-Heinemann and Jean Schmitz (calligrapher): Arno Breker 90 years. Edition Tolbiac (Ed.), Verlag NRW-Kunstkreis Düren 1990. ISBN 3-923399-17-0
  • Dieter Topp: Homage to Jean Schmitz, (Ed.) NRW-Kunstkreis-Verlag, Schloss Nörvenich, 1987, ISBN 3-923399-13-8 .
  • Marita Blüm: Culture has many pillars, (Ed.) Kulturforum Europa / Christian E. Bauer, Edition Tolbiac 1992, Nörvenich Castle , ISBN 3-923399-18-9 .
  • Dieter Topp: Art and artists in the Düren area, (Ed.) NRW-Kunstkreis eV 1984, Nörvenich Castle, ISBN 3-923399-09-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Artist archive European Culture Foundation (EKS) 2016
  2. ↑ http://www.aachener-zeitung.de/lokales/dueren/kuenstler-jean-schmitz-ein-mann-der-seine-heimatstadt-liebte-1.421044#plx1176840849
  3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2016 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.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geschichtswerkstatt-dueren.de
  4. ↑ Expo directory EKS, Bonn, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Schmitz, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, graphic artist and calligrapher
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Düren
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1999
Place of death Düren