Kurt Kempin

Kurt Kempin (born April 4, 1874 in Giebichenstein , † September 8, 1972 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German painter and set designer .

Life

Kurt William Kempin was born in Giebichenstein near Halle / Saale in 1874. He graduated from the Karlsruhe Art Academy and in 1896 became a decorative painter at the Darmstädter Hoftheater. In September 1911 he was appointed court theater painter. He was a leading stage designer at the Darmstadt court theater until 1921. At the suggestion of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, on the occasion of the performance of Oscar Wilde's “Salome” in 1907, he created a stylized stage with plastic structures. In doing so, he distinguished himself from the illusionistic stage painting of the Wilhelmine era that was customary at the time. Kurt Kempin contributed with his numerous stage sets to a “renewal of the theater” and tried to establish a connection with the artists of the Mathildenhöhe . In 1915 he was awarded the title of professor by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig .

After leaving the Darmstadt theater, he worked as a painter and private painting teacher. He received teaching positions a. a. at the trade schools in Darmstadt in Bensheim. In 1925 he delivered the drafts for the wall design of the large concert hall of the Bad Nauheim Kurhaus . To the extent that it has survived, his set design estate is in the theater collection of the University and State Library of the TU Darmstadt .

Publications

• 1906: 6 carnival carriages based on designs for the Carnival parade in Darmstadt 1906, Darmstadt.

Honors

• 1905: Awarding of the silver wedding medal in memory of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig's first wedding
• November 25, 1911: Award of the Knight's Cross, 2nd class, of the Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous
• June 26, 1913: Award of the Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous
• October 20, 1915: Awarded the title of professor
• 1959: Johann Heinrich Merck Award

literature

• Article Kurt Kempin, in: Stadtlexikon Darmstadt, Stuttgart 2006, p. 476.