Josef Hendel

Josef Hermann Hendel (born May 15, 1897 in Roßbach ; † May 9, 1993 in Neuenkirchen ) was a German artist who mainly made pen drawings , but also created numerous woodcuts , etchings , watercolors and oil paintings .

Life

Hendel came from a wealthy Bohemian family of textile manufacturers. After participating in World War I , he began to study art in Munich in 1923 at the Hans Hofmann School against the will of his parents and was disinherited by them. He studied with the impressionists Carl Johann Becker-Gundahl and Adolf Schinnerer and with the fresco painter Franz Klemmer . He was a master student of the portrait painter Hugo von Habermann .

As early as 1924, his exhibits were on view alongside works by Moholy-Nagy in the Goltz Gallery . His woodcuts made headlines in the late 1920s. A series of pen drawings that he wanted to exhibit in Munich's “ Haus der Kunst ” in 1938 were rejected as too bizarre, whereupon the sensitive artist destroyed these works. He also had to take part in the Second World War and was not able to complete his studies until 1943. After the war ended in 1945, he was forcibly relocated to Velbert . In the post-war period, the artist earned his living working for daily newspapers and magazines. The suffering he experienced led him to come to terms with the content of his faith and he converted to the Catholic Church in the 1950s . From 1950 he was married to the artist Maria Speckamp and ran a studio with her in Velbert, which was closed in 1960.

During this time, the couple made trips to Switzerland , France , Spain , Portugal and England with the support of scholarships . Many works were created on these trips. In 1960 the Hendels moved to Vreden , later to Altenberge and then to Borghorst . From 1983 the couple spent their twilight years in Neuenkirchen in the Steinfurt district .

In 1991, the Neuenkirchen community acquired all of the works still in the artist's possession (over 1500 exhibits). The estate of the Hendel couple is also owned by the municipality and is kept in the "Hendel room".

Exhibition 2010 in Neuenkirchen

In 2010 two parishes in Neuenkirchen ( St. Anna and St. Josef) celebrated a joint anniversary with the annual theme Life in Abundance . In addition, there was an exhibition lasting several months at eight different locations with 140 works by Hendel on questions of meaning and belief, including one on the annual theme of "Life in Abundance" in the Hecking Villa . A street was also named after Hendel.

The selection of paintings and drawings from over 1700 works was made by the art historian Ute Ewering and organized according to subject. At the opening, she described Hendel as an educated, extremely interesting and colorful person who "thanks to his old age - he was 96 years old - was able to experience a life in abundance" . Despite the massive problems he had with his parents because of his interest in art (his father was a textile manufacturer), he was drawn to painting from an early age. After many detours, Josef Hendel lived in Neuenkirchen with his wife Maria since 1982. The Mayor Franz Möllering recalled: "In the speech on the 93rd birthday Josef Hendel was as selfless, modest, humble, and designated as a Christian man. This probably also explains that he rejected his father's great legacy as an entrepreneur and became a painter ”.

Works

• "Sculptor Kroll" , pen and water color drawing 1956, archive of the Neuenkirchen community
• “Alec Monlux, New York” , pen drawing 1956, archive of the Neuenkirchen community
• “Orientation” , pen drawing and ink on paper 1962, archive of the Neuenkirchen community
• “The galley slaves” , pen and ink drawing in watercolors 1970, archive of the Neuenkirchen community

Images of the images listed above can be found in the book "Our Circle 1996".

The almost complete collection of all works is owned by the Neuenkirchen municipality and is owned by Dr. Ute Ewering has been systematically recorded and cataloged. She wrote a retrospective with 50 illustrations. After Josef Hendel's 95th birthday in 1992, many pictures were loaned for an exhibition in Velbert. Pictures were also shown in the towns of Saerbeck and Borghorst. On the occasion of the church anniversary of St. Anna (Neuenkirchen) “Life in Abundance” , many of his works will be exhibited in eight different locations in Neuenkirchen from August 20, 2010 to September 19, 2010, and a limited edition of 25 copies (reproduction) of the pen drawing "Flood, Ebb" was published. Some of his pictures will be on permanent display in the town hall, the council chamber and in the "Villa Hecking".

Appreciation

In recognition of the services of this artist, a residential street in the Neuenkirchen community was named after him (Josef-Hendel-Straße).

Web links

• Chronicle of the Roßbach market in the Asch district

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Josef Hendel: Art and Life in Abundance  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ "Our district 1996, yearbook for the Steinfurt district", ISBN 3-926619-47-3 , pages 59 ff.
3. ↑ Image: “Flut, Ebbe” Josef Hendel 1963  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 20, 2010  

swell

• Book: "Josef Hermann Hendel" retrospective on the occasion of his 95th birthday , Ute Ewering (1992)
• Flyer: "Josef Hendel_140 works in 8 locations in Neuenkirchen" (2010)