Max Thalmann

Max Thalmann (born August 13, 1890 in Rudolstadt ; † September 21, 1944 in Jena ) was a German graphic artist , illustrator and book artist . In particular, between 1919 and 1926 he made a contribution to the late Expressionist landscape representation and created an important work in the New Objectivity style with his cycle of prints "America in Woodcut" in 1924/25.

Max Thalmann, around 1935

life and work

After an apprenticeship in bookbinding in Halle, Max Thalmann became a student at the Weimar School of Applied Arts under Henry van de Velde in 1909 . Thalmann was the first student of the head of the local bookbinding department, Otto Dorfner , to deal with artistic bookbinding and in 1911 he passed the master's examination. From 1911 to 1913 he studied at the Royal Academy for graphic arts and book trade in Leipzig . In 1913 Thalmann returned to Weimar to work as an assistant for Henry van de Velde. Since he was classified as unfit for war due to his state of health, he continued his studies at the University of Fine Arts in Weimar , most recently as a master student of Walther Klemm . One semester as a “young master” at the Bauhaus Weimar was followed by the leap into self-employment in 1919. In addition to his artistic activity, he worked for the Bruno Wollbrück Verlag Weimar as an illustrator and book designer until around 1922, and during this time he had his first personal exhibitions in Weimar.

Woodcut from the series of prints "Passion", 1921

A turning point in his life was the trip to the USA in the winter of 1923/24. Their artistic result was the graphic cycle "America in Woodcut" in 1925. These sheets, as well as the woodcut series “Passion” (1921) and “Der Dom” (1922) show Thalmann at the zenith of his artistic work and were shown in exhibitions between Prague, Vienna and Paris around 1926/27.

For existential reasons, however, Thalmann broke off a possible artistic career around this time and followed the appointment as a book designer for the Eugen Diederichs Verlag Jena . Until his death in 1944 he designed almost the entire publishing house production there. He was buried in Weimar .

Woodcut from the graphic cycle "Der Dom", 1922

Illustrated books (selection)

Charles de Coster: Flemish Legends, Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag Weimar 1916.
Commemorative publication in memory of Grand Duke Carl Alexander, published by Bruno Wollbrück 1918.
Hermann von Boetticher: Sonnets of the Returned, Bruno Wollbrück Verlag Weimar 1919.
Herman Schmid: The cathedral master of Regensburg, Verlag Hermann Schaffstein Cologne [1920].
Max Thalmann: America in Woodcut, Eugen Diederichs Jena 1927.

Woodcut from the graphic cycle "America in Woodcut", 1925

Original graphic portfolios (selection)

Friedrich Hebbel: Genoveva, self-published Weimar 1917 (10 etchings).
Max Thalmann: Passion, Bruno Wollbrück Verlag Weimar 1921 (8 woodcuts).
Max Thalmann: Der Dom, Verlag Eugen Diederichs Jena 1923 (10 woodcuts).
Max Thalmann: Rhythm of the New World, self-published in Weimar around 1925 (10 woodcuts).
Max Thalmann: America in woodcuts, self-published in Weimar around 1925 (30 woodcuts).

literature

Jens Henkel: Max Thalmann. Graphic artist and book artist. With a contribution by Irmgard Heidler to book design for Eugen Diederichs Verlag Jena, burgart-presse Rudolstadt 2011 (with catalog raisonné of illustrated books and portfolios), ISBN 978-3-910206-76-2

Walther Georg Oschilewski: Max Thalmann. A contemporary German book artist. In: Archive for book trade and commercial graphics, vol. 78, 1941, pp. 155–178.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Thalmann, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German graphic artist, illustrator and book artist
DATE OF BIRTH	August 13, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rudolstadt , Thuringia
DATE OF DEATH	September 21, 1944
Place of death	Jena