Art Print Künstlerbund Karlsruhe

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The art print shop Künstlerbund Karlsruhe (KKK) was founded in May 1897 by members of the Karlsruhe Künstlerbund . The establishment was initiated by Count Leopold von Kalckreuth and Carlos Grethe . Carl Langhein became the first managing director of the under the name "Steruckerei, Langhein. Art print for the Künstlerbund “founded company. For a long time, the company remained largely in the hands of the artists.

In 1907, the art print company Künstlerbund Karlsruhe was one of the founders of the Deutscher Werkbund .

history

Poster for the company Dallmann & Co. from 1914 by Ivo Puhonny
Poster Nordlandfahrten Hamburg-America line from 1905 by Carl Langhein

In 1895 Leopold Graf von Kalckreuth received a professorship for painting at the Art Academy in Karlsruhe. His appointment brought "unrest in the idyllic Baden region". Kalckreuth was instrumental in promoting lithography. His incentive to the students is said to have been “Children paint on Sunday, during the week you spend time with graphics”. He saw in the printing technique of lithography the possibility of opening up new sources of income for artists. Kalckreuth and his assistant Carl Langhein managed to set up a workshop for lithography at the art academy against the resistance of Ferdinand Keller, but with the support of the Grand Duke .

The commitment to lithography in Karlsruhe was against the background of the reform movement at the turn of the century and also pursued aspects of the art education movement . The search was on for possibilities to reproduce artistic works directly and without falsification in large numbers. There was a desire to bring original artistic works of good quality to the customer in an inexpensive way.

The art print shop was founded in 1897 with Carl Langhein as managing director under the name "Steruckerei, Langhein. Art Print Shop for the Artists Association ”opened at Akademiestraße 35 and was organizationally affiliated to Josef Lang's Hasperschen Hofbuchdruckerei at Kaiserstraße 235. The founding members included Carlos Grethe, Franz Hein , Leopold Graf von Kalckreuth, Gustav Kampmann and Hans Richard von Volkmann .

In the year it was founded, the Haspersche Hofbuchdruckerei was sold to the G. Braunsche Hofbuchdruckerei. The art print shop became a subsidiary of the Braunschen Hofbuchdruckerei, with Langhein as operations manager. In 1898 the location of the art print shop was moved to Erbprinzenstraße 10. In 1901, the company was converted into a GmbH and from that point on officially appeared as the Künstlerbund Karlsruhe (KKK).

In the art print shop, inexpensive lithography was produced as affordable “art for everyone” and as an alternative to expensive paintings. The printing technique of lithography, invented in 1798, made it possible to print large-format sheets in high volumes and with consistent quality. The prints of the KKK were offered from 6 RM and were also sold abroad even as far as the USA . Lithographs by the artists' union were on display at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris . Of 25 color lithographs shown at the world exhibition, 20 came from the art print shop of the Künstlerbund. Editions of up to 10,000 pieces were made of particularly successful motifs. The numerous artists who designed these lithographs also included members of the Grötzingen painters' colony , such as Otto Fikentscher , Franz Hein and Karl Biese .

In the first few years, the art print shop mainly produced artistic color lithographs for the members of the Bundestag, but the intention was also from the outset to use lithographic technology for commercial purposes for printed matter of all kinds for industry and trade, on the one hand because it also had industrialists as shareholders, on the other in order to "revive the abundant one-sidedly limited possibilities of expression and to bring it into freer, more appealing channels".

The KKK designed printed advertising material for Palmin by Heinrich Schlinck , Dr. Thompson's soap powder from Ernst von Sieglin , Baaders pretzels from Julius Baader in Freiburg im Breisgau , Dallmann & Co. from Ivo Puhonny , Diana air rifles and Eureka weapons from Mayer & Grammelspacher, Meßmer tea , Türk & Pabst preserves and for the people of Bremen Shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd . Postage stamps were produced for the Grand Duchy of Baden . We also designed and produced posters, wine bottle labels, price lists and all kinds of packaging.

In 1901, the KKK signed a contract with the two publishers BG Teubner and R. Voigtländer in Leipzig for the publication and distribution of artistic high-speed press prints . The two publishers brought out around 400 lithographs in the following years. The minimum edition was 1,000 pieces. They were offered at a price of 1 to 6 RM. Reprints and hand-signed copies cost between 30 and 40 RM. The distribution through the two publishers gave the members of the Karlsruhe Artists' Association new exhibition, publication and sales opportunities. The exclusive hand-signed hand press prints were still produced and distributed by the art print shop in Karlsruhe.

In 1916 the art print shop acquired the neighboring building at 8 Erbprinzenstraße and in 1921 a shop was opened at 10 Erbprinzenstraße. Also from 1921, the KKK had its own folding box department in which printed folding boxes and cigarette packaging were produced. In 1923 the KKK was converted into a stock corporation. With the takeover of the Kupferstich-Anstalt Carl Metzeroth in Hildburghausen in 1924, production was expanded to include hiking maps. In the 1930s, the company received a photo and reproduction department.

In 1957/58 the company, which had grown into a large graphic company, was expanded to include the buildings at Erbprinzenstrasse 4 and 12. In the early 1980s, operations had to be reduced to Erbprinzenstrasse 4 before being completely closed in 1984.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The following artists are documented as partners for 1912: Hans Richard von Volkmann , Ivo Puhonny (10,000 RM each  ), Carl Langhein (8,000 RM), Hans Thoma (6,000 RM), Otto Fikentscher , Gustav Kampmann , Karl Otto Matthaei , Hans Schroedter (5,000 RM each), Gustav Schönleber (3,500 RM), Walter Conz , Hellmut Eichrodt , Otto Eichrodt , Heinrich Freytag , Wilhelm Hempfing , Walter Strich-Chapell , Wilhelm Süs , Karl Walther (2,000 RM each), Karl Biese and Anton Glück (1,000 RM each). The Karlsruher Künstlerbund also owned a share of 9,000 RM. The publishers and printing house owners Albert and Richard Knittel (49,000 RM each), Julius Schlinck, Palmin (35,000 RM) and Otto Meßmer, Meßmer-Tee (25,000 RM) owned larger shares.

Catalogs (selection)

  • Catalog of the original lithographs of the Künstlerbund Karlsruhe , Verlag der Künsterei Künstlerbund Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe 1904 ( digitized version )
  • Catalog of the original lithographs, etchings, woodcuts of the Künstlerbund Karlsruhe , Verlag der Künsterei Künstlerbund Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe 1908 ( digitized )

literature

  • Municipal Gallery Karlsruhe , Erika Rödiger-Diruf (Ed.): How painting? Lithography around 1900. Catalog of the exhibition in the Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, April 22nd to July 2nd, 2006 . Neuer Kunstverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-923344-65-1 .
  • Detlef Lorenz: Advertising art around 1900. Artist lexicon for collecting pictures . Reimer, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-496-01220-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Detlef Lorenz: Advertising art around 1900. Artist lexicon for collecting pictures . Reimer, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-496-01220-X , p. 15 .
  2. ^ Margit Fritz: The Karlsruhe Artists Association . In: Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe , Erika Rödiger-Diruf (Ed.): How painting? Lithography around 1900. Catalog of the exhibition in the Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, April 22nd to July 2nd, 2006 . Neuer Kunstverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-923344-65-1 , p. 91 .
  3. ↑ Brigitte Baumstark: The Karlsruhe Artists Association and the lithography around 1900 . In: Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe , Erika Rödiger-Diruf (Ed.): How painting? Lithography around 1900. Catalog of the exhibition in the Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, April 22nd to July 2nd, 2006 . Neuer Kunstverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-923344-65-1 , p. 10 .
  4. ^ Art Nouveau in Karlsruhe. A breath of fresh air in the residence. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 3, 2016 ; accessed on February 29, 2016 .
  5. ^ Anton Glück: Chat about the KKK . In: Anniversary newspaper 50 years of the KKK 1897–1947 . Karlsruhe 1947 ( limited preview in the Google book search).

Web links

Commons : Fine Art Print, Künstlerbund Karlsruhe  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 0 '27.4 "  N , 8 ° 24' 6.4"  E