Margret Bilger

Margret Bilger (born August 12, 1904 in Graz , † July 24, 1971 in Schärding ) was an Austrian artist.

Life

Margret Bilger was born in Graz as the daughter of the university teacher for modern history Ferdinand Bilger (1875–1949) and his wife Margit (1874–1933), b. Matthéy-Guenet, born. Her brother was the chemist and painter Ferdinand Bilger (1903–1961), who, like cousin Goldy Matthéy, went into the Spanish Civil War as a volunteer medic on the side of the Republicans . Through him Margret Bilger was related by marriage to the ceramicist and painter Maria Biljan-Bilger (1912–1997) in the early 1930s . Her sister was the image maker Irmtraut Ring (1910–1999), her first marriage to the sculptor Franz Blum (1914–1942), her second marriage to the astrologer, poet and painter Thomas Ring (1892–1983).

Margret Bilger studied at the arts and crafts schools in Graz with Wilhelm Gösser and Stuttgart with Friedrich Hermann Ernst Schneidler , Karl Sigrist , Albrecht Leo Merz and from 1924 to 1928 at the arts and crafts school in Vienna with graphics with Berthold Löffler , writing with Rudolf von Larisch and glass painting with Reinhold Klaus . After a failed first marriage in Graz, she withdrew more and more to the grandmother's house in Taufkirchen an der Pram in Upper Austria .

Taufkirchen an der Pram , Margret Bilger's grave

In 1938 she met Alfred Kubin . He recognized the quality of their wood cracks early on, became a friendly advisor and stood up for them in the art world.

The glass painting work was created from 1950 in the glass workshop in Schlierbach Abbey , which became a second center of life.

Margret Bilger married the painter Hans Joachim Breustedt (1901–1984), who had come from the Bauhaus, in 1953 , she converted to the Roman Catholic denomination in 1966 and died on July 24, 1971 in Schärding am Inn. The artist was a member of the MAERZ artists 'association and the Innviertel artists ' guild .

Career

It was first known for its cracks in wood . These represent a modification of the expressionist woodcut . Margret Bilger is one of the few artists of her time who left behind an unmistakable oeuvre of prints .

Baptistery parish church Liesing

Since 1950 she has been successful as a glass painter with windows for churches in Austria , the USA and Germany. As a glass painter, Margret Bilger has created a unique and extensive work.

Represented at the 25th Venice Biennale (1950), at exhibitions in New York (1952 and 1957), awarded the gold medal for church windows in the parish church of Liesing (Vienna 1954) at the International Exhibition of Christian Art, was the highlight of her public successes in the 1950s.

When it became quiet around Margret Bilger with the emergence of new trends since the 1960s, her late work, which had hitherto hardly been noticed outside of Upper Austria, came into being: textile works, reverse glass paintings , watercolors and drawings .

In 1963 and 1964 she designed 13 windows on behalf of Abbot Karl Braunstorfer for the Bernardi Chapel in Heiligenkreuz Abbey, which was consecrated around 1290 . The encounter with Braunstorfer, whose beatification process was opened in 2008, and the architecture of the Heiligenkreuz Abbey preceded her conversion to Catholicism.

Works

Woodcuts / wood cracks

• 1928: Small series from Viennese folk life. 6 woodcuts, Neue Galerie Graz
• 1931: Austrian saint. 6 woodcuts, publisher Gsur & Co Vienna, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1934: The wooden mandl. Picture sheet with 8 linocuts, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz
• 1940: Old German children's songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn). 6 woodcuts, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz
• 1942: Chickens and chickens on the Nussberg (Des Knaben Wunderhorn). 12 woodcuts, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1942: Mother, mother, I'm starving (Des Knaben Wunderhorn). 6 woodcuts, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz
• 1943: Bucklicht Männlein (Des Knaben Wunderhorn). 8 wood cracks, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz
• 1943: The described Tännling (Adalbert Stifter). 4 wood cracks, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz
• 1944: Ein Zicklein, Ein Zicklein, (Des Knaben Wunderhorn). 8 wood cracks, Diocesan Museum Vienna
• 1944: Passau (on own verse). 5 wood cracks, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz
• 1944: Machandelboom (Grimms Märchen), 6 wood cracks, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1944: Grandmother snake cook (Des Knaben Wunderhorn), 4 wood cracks, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1944: Heitschi Bumbeitschi (Styrian lullaby), 3 wood cracks, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1944: Grim Reaper (Grimms Märchen), 3 wood cracks, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1947: Whitsun cycle (for the Song of Songs), 6 wood cracks, Albertina Vienna
• 1948: Easter cycle, 7 wood cracks, Rupertinum Salzburg
• 1950: The Centaur (after Maurice de Guérin Le Centaure ), 3 wood cracks, Albertina Vienna
• 1951: Lappenmärchen (Robert Crottet), 9 wood cracks, Gurlitt Verlag, Linz - Munich, Upper Austrian State Gallery Linz

Stained glass window

• 1950/51: Annunciation, leaded glass window, Diocesan Museum Linz
• 1952: Vogelweide window , leaded glass window, Wels Vogelweide sharpening school
• 1952: Farmer's stand, craft stand, 2 leaded glass windows, Wels City Museum
• 1953: Mercy seat , stained glass window, parish church in Wels, Polheim crypt
• 1954/1955: Baptistery window, 9 lead glass windows, parish church Vienna-Liesing
• 1955: Wedding at Kanaa, Ehernes Meer, 2 stained glass windows, parish church Vienna Heiligenstadt
• 1955: Young men in the furnace, lead glass windows, Bilger-Breustedt School Center Taufkirchen an der Pram
• 1956–1962: Apocalypse, 4 leaded glass windows, Eisenstadt Cathedral
• 1958: Helper in need, St. Vitus, 3 lead glass windows, parish church Bad Kreuzen Upper Austria
• 1959: 7 sacraments, saints, 11 leaded glass windows, Assumption Church Duncan, Oklahoma USA
• 1959: St. Francis, lead glass window with the school sisters, Vöcklabruck
• 1960: St. Josef, concrete glass window, Rohrbach an der Lafnitz parish church , Styria.
• 1960: St. Magdalena, baptism in the Jordan, 2 lead glass windows, St. Magdalena parish church in Linz
• 1960: Angel frieze, 50-part concrete glass window band, St. Erentrudis parish church, Salzburg Herrnau
• 1960–1962: Eucharist, lead glass window wall, parish church St. Erentrudis Salzburg Herrnau
• 1961: Pieta, Good Shepherd, Prodigal Son and others, 5 lead glass windows, St. Wenceslas Chapel, Wartberg ob der Aist Upper Austria
• 1962: Joseph legend, Marien window, 2 concrete glass windows, Lenzing parish church, Upper Austria
• 1963/64: Mary, Christmas, crucifixion windows, 7 lead glass windows, Rainbach parish church in Mühlkreis Upper Austria
• 1963: Mother of Sorrows, concrete glass window Morgue Wernstein am Inn
• 1964: Marienleben, 2 lead glass windows, parish church of St. Marienkirchen near Schärding
• 1964: Faith festivals, 13 lead glass windows, Bernardi Chapel, Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Lower Austria
• 1966: Baptismal window, lead glass, Parish Church Bad Füssing / Safferstetten, Bavaria
• 1967: Apocalypse, Crucifixion, 2 concrete glass windows, Evangelical Johanneskirche Linz
• 1967: Resurrection, concrete glass windows, district retirement home Schärding am Inn
• 1968: Maria Ägyptiaca, sea star, 2 lead glass windows, Stiftsmuseum Reichersberg am Inn
• 1968–1971: Marienfenster, lead glass, parish church St. Joseph Duisburg-Hamborn FRG

Exhibitions

Permanent exhibitions

• Bilger-Breustedt-Haus: a museum about the Austrian artist Margret Bilger and her husband, the German Bauhaus artist Hans Joachim Breustedt. Since 2004, in Taufkirchen an der Pram / district Leoprechting (supervised by the Bilger-Haus association founded in 1998 ).
• Margret Bilger Gallery in Schlierbach Abbey : permanent presentation of works by Margret Bilger (and works by Schlierbach glass painting, furthermore three exhibitions of current contemporary visual art are shown each year)

Exhibitions

• 1943: Munich, Graphisches Kabinett Günther Franke in the Palais Almeida Briennerstrasse 51, "Margret Bilger - wood cracks and watercolors"
• 1946: Ried im Innkreis, Innviertel Gallery. Margret Bilger Graphics and stained glass. With Franz Blum, Irmtraut Blum, Hilda Sapper
• 1947: Linz, New Gallery of the City of Linz. The creative woman. MB, Vilma Eckl, Ottilie Kasper, Käthe Kollwitz, Clara Siewert
• 1948: Heidelberg, Bernhard Klein Ziegelhäuser Landstrasse. Margret Bilger Wood cracks and watercolors
• 1949: Vienna, Albertina graphic collection, Margret Bilger wood cracks, watercolors and drawings
• 1949: Atlanta USA, University of Georgia Fine Arts Gallery, block prints by Margret Bilger from the Collection of Gregor Sebba
• 1950: Linz, New Gallery of the City of Linz, Margret Bilger Holzrisse, watercolors, drawings
• 1950: Munich, Gurlittkabinett in the Blue House, Margret Bilger Holzrisse
• 1951: Schlierbach Monastery, Margret Bilger Wood cracks, drawings and watercolors
• 1952: New York, The Galerie St. Etienne, 46 West 57th street, woodcuts by Margret Bilger
• 1954: Salzburg, Welz Gallery. Margret Bilger Wood cracks, charcoal, watercolor, pencil
• 1954: Vienna, Neue Galerie Grünangergasse 1, Margret Bilger Graphics, glass windows
• 1955: Linz, Upper Austrian State Museum, special exhibition in the "Gothic Hall" with the glass windows of the Vienna-Liesing church created by Margret Bilger
• 1957: New York, The Galerie St. Etienne, Margret Bilger watercolors, drawings, woodcuts
• 1957: Linz, Upper Austrian State Museum. Collective exhibition Margret Bilger with Hans J. Breustedt
• 1958: Munich, Günther Franke Gallery in the Stuck Villa, Margret Bilger with Hans J. Breustedt
• 1958: Salzburg, Biennale of Contemporary Christian Art. Margret Bilger center piece St. Mary's window for Vienna Don Bosco. Under the roses
• 1958: York England, City of York Art Gallery, Woodcuts by Margret Bilger
• 1962: Munich, Galerie Günther Franke, Margret Bilger with Hans J. Breustedt and Werner Gilles
• 1963: Linz, Galerie O. Bejvl in Badgasse, Margret Bilger
• 1965: Linz, Galerie O. Bejvl in Badgasse, Margret Bilger watercolors, woodcuts
• 1967: Linz, Galerie O. Bejvl in Hofgasse, Margret Bilger woodcuts, watercolors, reverse glass paintings
• 1968: Copenhagen, Corner udstillingen pa Charlottenburg, Margret Bilger Holzrisse
• 1968: Stift Reichersberg am Inn, Margret Bilger wood cracks, watercolors, weaving
• 1969/70: Munich, Galerie Günther Franke, Maximilianstrasse 22. Margret Bilger weaving, wood cracks, watercolors, drawings, glass windows
• 1970: Reichersberg am Inn Abbey, WB wood cracks, watercolors, weaving, drawings
• 1975: Schlierbach Abbey, Margret Bilger Memorial Exhibition of the Province of Upper Austria: Contemporary art in baroque rooms
• 1977: Graz, Neue Galerie, Margret Bilger Selection from the complete works
• 1978: Schlierbach, opening of the Margret Bilger Gallery in Schlierbach Abbey
• 1979: Reichersberg Abbey, Margret Bilger on her 75th birthday, selection from the estate
• 1980: Salzburg, Museum pavilion in Mirabell Gardens, Margret Bilger Selection from the complete works
• 1984: Wels, Gallery of the City of Wels, Margret Bilger Selection from the complete works
• 1984/85: Vienna, Albertina Graphic Collection, Margret Bilger Die Holzrisse owned by the Albertina
• 1986: Salzburg, Rupertinum, Margret Bilger donated by Wolfgang Graninger
• 1986: Salzburg, Altnöder Gallery, Margret Bilger Holzrisse, drawings, watercolors
• 1986: Schlierbach, Margret Bilger-Galerie. Margret Bilger On the New Testament
• 1988/89: Salzburg, Rupertinum, Margret Bilger Holzrisse, drafts of glass windows, drawings
• 1989: Linz, Upper Austria State Museum, Margret Bilger Selection from the complete works
• 1991: Passau, Museum of Modern Art, Margret Bilger Holzrisse, watercolors, oil paintings
• 1994: Schlierbach, Margret Bilger-Galerie. Margret Bilger On the Old Testament
• 1996: Pasching near Linz, gallery in the smithy. Margret Bilger watercolors, wood cracks, drawings
• 1996: Taufkirchen, municipal office, exhibition on the 25th anniversary of death: "I want to live here always now ..." The bilger in Taufkirchen
• 1997: Linz, Upper Austria State Gallery, Margret Bilger - the painterly work
• 1997: Margret Bilger gallery of the Cistercian monastery Schlierbach. Margret Bilger in Schlierbach
• 1997: Ried im Innkreis, Innviertler Volkskundehaus Museum . Margret Bilger Christmas motifs
• 2001: Galerie NeunZendorf Ried i.Trkr., MB. Portrait drawings
• 2004: Linz Landesgalerie, ... from the collection: "Margret Bilger's LEBENSwerk"
• 2004: Passau, Museum of Modern Art - Wörlen Foundation. The gaze directed as a woman - Margret Bilger, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Gabriele Münter
• 2004: Ried im Innkreis, Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus, Margret Bilger - textile work and painting
• 2004: Schärding Castle Gallery, Margret Bilger - stages in an artistic development
• 2004: Schlierbach Margret-Bilger-Galerie, saints in cracks in wood and glass windows; Abbey library: Margret Bilger Schlierbacher "Student" portraits
• 2005: Bruneck City Museum , Margret Bilger's life's work
• 2016: Passau Museum of Modern Art Wörlen, "How is there a lot in common in that?" The artist couple Bilger-Breustedt
• 2016: Schlierbach an der Krems, Margret Bilger-Galerie. Margret Bilger - The 8th genre

Awards

• 1928: First Austrian State Prize for the best overall performance at the Vienna School of Applied Arts
• 1960: professional title professor
• 1975: The state of Upper Austria organizes in the Cistercian monastery Schlierbach from May 24th to August 31st a commemorative exhibition for Margret Bilger, who died in 1971, with graphics, glass paintings, drawings and watercolors under the title 'Contemporary Art in Baroque Rooms'.
• 1978: With the support of the Provincial Government of Upper Austria, the Margret Bilger Gallery is opened in Schlierbach Abbey in the vicinity of the glass painting workshop.
• Since 2000, the Margret-Bilger-Scholarship of the State of Upper Austria has been awarded for major artistic projects. Like the Adalbert Stifter and Anton Bruckner scholarships, it is sent to artists from Upper Austria every two years. awarded.
• In 2000 a path in Linz was named after Margret Bilger. After Dachsweg 14, the cul-de-sac runs roughly in a west-southwest direction. There are other Margret Bilger paths in Münzkirchen, Schärding and Schlierbach. In Ried im Innkreis and Taufkirchen an der Pram there is a Margret-Bilger-Straße and in Taufkirchen an der Pram there is the Bilgerweg, a hiking trail that leads from the center to the Bilgerhaus in Leoprechting and over Pfuda- and Heubrücke.
• In 2009 the newly built Bilger-Breustedt school center in Taufkirchen an der Pram was named after Margret Bilger and her husband, Hans Joachim Breustedt .

literature

• Peter Assmann , Melchior Frommel (ed.): Margret Bilger. The painterly work. Landesgalerie Oberösterreich, Provincial Library, Weitra 1997, ISBN 3-85474-019-0 .
• Eisenhut Günter : Margret Bilger In: Modernity in dark times. Resistance, persecution and exile of Styrian artists 1933-1948. Günter Eisenhut, Peter Weibel (Eds.) Graz 2001.
• Margret Bilger. Wood cracks, drawings, glass window work. Salzburg 1988.
• Margret Bilger. Wood cracks, religious consequence. 28 panels printed from the stone after wood cracks. Print 13 series 'Studio' published by Neugebauer Press Bad Goisern 1977
• Melchior Frommel: Margret Bilger. The wood cracks, with a complete catalog of works. Austrian Graphic artist IX., Edition Tusch, Vienna 1973
• Melchior Frommel (Ed.): Margret Bilger. Portrait drawings. Verlag Josef Heindl, Schärding 1986, ISBN 3-900328-11-5
• Melchior Frommel, Franz Xaver Hofer (Eds.): Margret Bilger - Alfred Kubin. Correspondence. Verlag Landstrich, Schärding 1997, ISBN 3-928844-21-0 .
• Melchior Frommel (ed.): Margret Bilger in Taufkirchen an der Pram. 2nd supplemented edition. edition innsalz, Aspach 2004, ISBN 3-900050-11-2 .
• Franz Xaver Hofer : Portrait drawings - their meaning in the work and life of Margret Bilger. In: Margret Bilger. Portrait drawings. Margret Bilger Gallery in the Cistercian Abbey of Schlierbach, 1981
• Franz Xaver Hofer: The Centaur. Narration, with drawings by Margret Bilger. Museum of Modern Art, Passau 1991, ISBN 3-9802307-4-0 .
• Margret Bilger. The painterly work. Linz 1997.
• Wilhelm Albert von Jenny : Collective exhibition Margret Bilger, Hans Joachim Breustedt, Upper Austrian State Museum. Linz 1957.
• Herbert Lange : The described Tännling and his illustrative accompaniment by Margret Bilger. In: Adalbert Stifter Institute. Volume 7, 1/2, Linz 1958.
• Gerold Leitner (Ed.): Margret Bilger. Schlierbacher “student” portraits. Texts by Christina Carlberg and Friederike Zillner , exhibition catalog Stift Schlierbach 2004.
• Margret Bilger 1904–1971. Exhibition by the state of Upper Austria. Linz 1975.
• Otto Mauer : From dark backgrounds. In: Word and Truth. Vienna 9/1947. (Reprinted in: Catalog Schlierbach 1986 and: MB Holzrisse, drawings, glass window work. Salzburg 1988)
• Museum of Modern Art Wörlen (ed.): "How is there a lot in common in there?" The artist couple Bilger-Breustedt. Contributions by M. Frommel, J. Gabler, H. Hofer, R. Wall. Passau 2016.
• P. Paulus Niemetz: In memoriam Margret Bilger. On the creation of the windows in the Bernardi Chapel in Heiligenkreuz. In: Sancta Crux 1971.
• Alois Riedl : About Margret Bilger. In: Margret Bilger. The oil paintings. Museum of Modern Art, Passau 1991.
• Wilfried Skreiner (Ed.): Catalog for the exhibition in the Neue Galerie and department for applied arts at the Landesmuseum Joaneum. Graz 1977.
• Teresa Wielend. "Pain Before Day". An artist friendship. Margret Bilger's wood cracks for poems by Theodor Sapper. With memories by Hilda Sapper, ed .: Melchior Frommel, Weitra 2017.
• Melchior Frommel : Margret Bilger in words and pictures. Poems, excerpts from letters; The eight artistic genres; Biography, literature. artedition: Verlag Bibliothek der Provinz , Edition Verein Bilger-Haus, Weitra, Taufkirchen an der Pram 2019.

Web links

Commons : Margret Bilger  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Bilger-Breustedt-Haus: Margret Bilger's website
• Literature by and about Margret Bilger in the catalog of the German National Library