Josef Höffler

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Josef Höffler (1879–1915), wood sculptor

Josef Höffler (born March 18, 1879 in Kaiserslautern , † March 28, 1915 in Bad Bergzabern ) was a German sculptor.

life and work

education

Höffler was born as the son of hammer master Georg Höffler. After attending elementary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a wood sculptor in Karl Schwertl's studio at Küferstrasse 8 , Kaiserslautern. This was followed by training as a sculptor leader at the master school (formerly the building trade school) in Kaiserslautern. On November 13, 1903, he began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His teacher was Wilhelm von Rümann . In his sculpting class there was also Josef Matare , the brother of the sculptor Ewald Mataré . Höffler dropped out after about a year and returned to Kaiserslautern.

Stay in Paris

After his apprenticeship, he went on a hike until 1902. Mainly through Germany and Austria. He also traveled to Paris, where he became acquainted with the work of Auguste Rodin , which influenced him and strengthened his will to be artistically active.

Life in Kaiserslautern

Artist's wife (charcoal drawing)

The place of birth is given as "above the steelworks" in Kaiserslautern. As a child and teenager, he lived with his parents and 3 siblings at Birnstrasse 1 (the house still exists). In 1905 Höffler showed his work at the Palatinate trade and industrial exhibition in Kaiserslautern. He was awarded the silver medal here. The King of Bavaria also had him called to congratulate him on his work. Disappointed about the lack of attention to his work, he moves to Hamburg . He earned his living in Kaiserslautern as a carpenter. Here he met his wife Elise, nee. Kling (1879–1947, picture on the right). She and their son Karl emigrated to the USA on January 16, 1925. Karl lived in DeLand, Florida after his mother's death.

Life in Hamburg

From 1905 Josef Höffler lived in Hamburg and worked as a master in a furniture factory. 1905 was a special year for Hamburg and the art world. In addition to Höffler, Rosa Schapire also moved to Hamburg. The artists' association Brücke was founded in Dresden and collectors like Gustav Schiefler began to break away from the institutional art business and also to collect artists from this association and to make friends with the artists. Rosa Schapire and Schmidt-Rottluff became close friends. It was in this environment that Höffler first received recognition for his works. At the spring exhibition of the Munich Secession in 1907 , the art historian Woldemar von Seidlitz bought a youth's head (1907, linden wood) and donated it to the Albertinum in Dresden . This head was later described as a masterpiece of the era . Alfred Lichtwark , director of the Hamburger Kunsthalle , became aware of him in Hamburg and had two portrait busts and a group of figures made by him. The portraits show Count von Götzen (1908, lime wood) and the zoo founder Carl Hagenbeck (1909, lime wood). The half-life-size group of figures shows Hagenbeck playing with a lion. All three works are in the Kunsthalle Hamburg. During his lifetime, in 1914, his works were shown in an “International Exhibition in the Kunsthalle Bremen ”. Together with Claude Monet , Paul Cézanne , Max Beckmann , Auguste Renoir a . a. In 1930 works by Höffler were shown in the Hamburger Kunstverein. Here u. a. also presents works by Pablo Picasso , Marc Chagall , Giorgio de Chirico , Otto Dix , Henri Matisse , Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Wassily Kandinsky , Edvard Munch and Emil Nolde . In 2012, the assistant to the director of the Kunsthalle wrote that individual pieces such as the “Portrait of Carl Hagenbeck with a Lion” by Joseph Höffler should have the status of a public favorite for all Hamburgers. Among his collectors were z. B. the Hamburg Ernst Rump and the Dresden "Odolkönig" Karl August Lingner .

Ferdinand Hodler

Woman standing

Josef Höffler made a small, 15 cm high female nude figure out of rosewood. (Picture right) He was probably animated to this figure by the painting Truth 2 by the Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler and wanted to develop it further. This little sculpture made a big impression on Hodler. The figure shows a lean, sinewy “woman's body, standing with her feet firmly on the ground, straightening up in a slim, steep manner, the head leaning back, the gaze goes up, the arms are strictly parallel to the neck, so that the elbows bump forward hard. ” Hans Börger wrote in 1912: “ It is no coincidence that Ferdinand Hodler in particular spoke in admiration about this work. In fact, Höffler has a lot in common with the Swiss. In addition to the very original conception, there is the high technical perfection of the statuette. " Woldemar von Seidlitz wrote about him in 1908: " This freedom from any convention - (...) - is something so rare in our days (...) we remember that this Recreating from nature is the only way that can lead to a viable art in our time (...) ”.

Death in Bad Bergzabern

Because of a lung disease, Höffler went to Bad Bergzabern in the south of the Palatinate to relax. Albert Haueisen made a portrait of him here or in Jockgrim, where Haueisen lived. Josef Höffler died there after a long illness at the age of only 36. Ottheinrich Münch wrote about his early death: “Without a doubt, the most outstanding plastic talent is Josef Höffler, who unfortunately died too early and was wrongly forgotten. (...) His work, which justified the greatest hopes, had to remain a fragment ... ” . and Woldemar von Seidlitz: "(...) The greatest liveliness with the greatest simplification formed his striving, to which he remained loyal to the end" . His grave in Bad Bergzabern was badly damaged by artillery fire and bombing during World War II, and was eventually leveled.

A street in Kaiserslautern has been named after Josef Höffler since 1953.

Works

  • Portrait of the artist's sister, plaster relief, around 1900, 29.5 × 22 cm.
  • Young man's head (or male portrait), 43 × 21 × 22 cm, linden wood, 1907, Albertinum Dresden. Inventory number: ZV 2290
  • Bust of Frau Leber, oak wood, 37 cm high, 1907
  • Knäbchen (Götz from the neighboring house?), Mahogany wood, private property, Berlin
  • Portrait (Carl) Hagenbeck, Lindenholz, Kunsthalle Hamburg, S-1939-22.
  • Portrait of Adolf Graf von Goetzen, Lindenholz, 1908, Kunsthalle Hamburg, S-1939-23.
  • Through Africa from east to west, 20 cm high, ebony (?)
  • Carl Hagenbeck with lions, limewood, half life size, 1909, Kunsthalle Hamburg, S-1939-19
  • Portrait bust Kommerzienrat Christmann, linden wood, 54 cm high, 1910,
  • Portrait bust of the artist's wife, maple wood, 36.5 cm high, 1913, Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern.
  • Children's head sketch, pencil, 1913, 15 × 9.9 cm. Theodor-Zink-Museum, Inv.-No. 1161.
  • Idar-Oberstein, picture painted on wood, size 25 × 30 cm.
  • Kätchen Höffler, painting, 60 × 60 cm.
  • "Fratze", console made of linden wood.
  • Figurine "Sister of Gustav Kling", wood, 175 cm high (fell victim to the bombing of September 28, 1944 in Kaiserslautern).
  • Figure of Elise (wife of the artist, possibly identical to the figure "Sister of Gustav Kling" burned in the war in Kaiserslautern)
  • "Walter as a child", relief (probably by the son of his brother Karl, also burned)
  • "Nature Study", rosewood.
  • Portrait bust Dr. Schroeder, alder wood
  • Portrait bust of Dr. Schroeder, wooden bust
  • Lioness, linden wood

literature

  • Woldemar von Seidlitz: New Artists (Adolf Schinnerer, Josef Höffler) in: Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst , 1908, pp. 255–260.
  • Wilhelm Radenberg: Modern sculpture (The blue books) , Düsseldorf and Leipzig, undated, 1912.
  • Ottheinrich Münch: The sculptor Josef Höffler in: Kaiserslautern. 1276-1951 , 1951, pp. 179-186.
  • Ottheinrich Münch: Two sculptures by Josef Höffler in the possession of the city of Kaiserslautern , in: Kaiserslautern, the industrial and commercial city in the heart of the Palatinate Forest , 7th year, issue 23, 1957, pp. 24–30.
  • Claudia Gross-Roath: Kaiserslautern sculptor. Between tradition and modernity. In: Series of publications by the Theodor-Zink-Museum , Issue 12, 2005, ISBN 3-936036-15-2 , pp. 39–43.
  • Friedrich Ohliger: Correspondence with the Höffler family, Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive.
  • Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive.
  • Woldemar von Seidlitz: Nekrologe in: Kunstchronik, 26. Jg., Leipzig, 1915.
  • Hans Börger: Josef Höffler, a modern German carver in: Die Plastik , 2nd year, Munich, 1912

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Address book from 1905, Kaiserslautern, Pfalzbibliothek Kaiserslautern
  2. ↑ matriculation number .
  3. ^ Newspaper article street names after famous artists in: Die Freiheit v. December 23, 1953
  4. ↑ undated letter, Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive
  5. ↑ picture Elise Höffler; City archive Kaiserslautern
  6. ↑ Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive
  7. ↑ see WvSeidlitz, 1908 and Claudia Gross-Roath, 2005
  8. ↑ Münch, 1951
  9. ↑ Information from the Kunsthalle Hamburg
  10. ↑ See Kunsthalle Bremen, exhibition catalog “International Exhibition in the Kunsthalle Bremen” from February 1 to March 31, 1914. Link: www.archive.is/jpYJt
  11. ↑ under: www.kunstverein.de/download/presse/Ausstellungen-1858-2010.pdf
  12. ↑ Daniel Koep on the page of the Friends of the Kunsthalle at https://www.freunde-der-kunsthalle.de/h/archiv_39.php?eventid=701 , Here Höffler's first name is written with ph at the end. Whether Höffler wrote to Joseph instead of Josef in Hamburg remains to be clarified.
  13. ↑ see Wv Seidlitz, 1915
  14. ^ Letter from Karl Höffler dated August 19, 1961, Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive
  15. ↑ Picture female nude figure: City Archives Kaiserslautern
  16. ^ Hans Börger, 1912
  17. ↑ Münch, 1951
  18. ^ Hans Börger, 1912
  19. ^ Wv Seidlitz, 1908
  20. ^ Claudia Gross-Roath, 2005
  21. ↑ Münch, 1951
  22. ^ Wv Seidlitz, 1915
  23. ^ Letter from the Mayor of Bergzabern, Herzhauser v. May 11, 1959, AZ bo-la, Kaiserslautern City Archives
  24. ↑ Wedding present from Josef to brother Karl, letter Mein Heim v. February 25, 1944 by Karl Höffler, Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive
  25. ^ Letter of April 15, 1959 from Olga Kling to Friedrich Ohliger, Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive
  26. ^ Letter v. February 25, 1944, Karl Höffler, Höffler family archive, Kaiserslautern city archive
  27. ^ Letter v. February 25, 1944 by Karl Höffler, Höffler family archive, Kaiserslautern city archive
  28. ^ Letter of August 19, 1961 from Karl Höffler, son. Höffler family folder, Kaiserslautern city archive
  29. ↑ ibid
  30. ↑ ibid
  31. ↑ ibid
personal data
SURNAME Höffler, Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Kaiserslautern
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1915
Place of death Bad Bergzabern