Oluf Braren
Oluf Braren (born February 25, 1787 in Oldsum , † March 22, 1839 in Toftum ) was a representative of naive painting . Some of the works of this amateur painter show a close connection with his North Frisian homeland.
Portraits, descriptions of folk life and pictures on religious and mythological subjects are known.
Life
Oluf Braren was born in Oldsum on Föhr in North Friesland . His father was a blacksmith and farmer. At the age of 19 he became a teacher on the island of Sylt after he had acquired the necessary knowledge - like painting - in self-study. His nephew Brar C. Braren writes in his memoir about Oluf Braren: “... because he never had any teachers other than books. ... Like the educated people of his time, he was a rationalist . ”On September 25, 1808, he married Meete, b. Wilhelms. In addition to painting, Braren also studied nature and created an extensive collection of natural objects.
Around 1810 the couple moved to Utersum on Föhr; Braren worked there as a teacher. He began a love affair with Ing Peter Matzen from the neighboring village of Hedehusum . This relationship lasted about seven years and produced two children, while Braren's marriage to Meete remained childless. Braren lost his job when the relationship became public and moved to Toftum, where he worked as an assistant teacher in poor circumstances.
Ing Peter Matzen's brother Peter Nahmen Matthiesen was friends with Braren and took painting and drawing lessons from him. When Peter Matthiesen found himself particularly talented, he went to Eutin around 1818 to take lessons from Wilhelm Tischbein . Oluf Braren accompanied his former student there and there is evidence that he stayed with Tischbein in Eutin for a week. At least indirectly, he was strongly influenced by Tischbein's art, which is expressed in Braren's subsequent works.
reception
Braren remained largely unknown during his lifetime and his pictures were little appreciated. Even when the estate of his nephew Jürgen Braren was distributed in 1897, it is known that the relatives preferred a microscope to three paintings by Oluf Braren. It was not until the 20th century that his work was greatly appreciated.
Oluf Braren's life was dealt with in two novels:
- Mia Munier-Wroblewski: Olaf Braren [sic]. Meissner, Bleckede Castle on the Elbe in 1948.
- New edition: Olaf Braren (= North Friesland in a novel, vol. 4). Edited by Arno Bammé and Thomas Steensen. Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Husum 2010, ISBN 978-3-89876-501-5 .
- Olaf Schmidt: Friesian blood . Eichborn-Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-8218-0770-9 .
Works (selection)
- Self-Portrait, ca.1820
- Helena, ca.1820s
- Portrait Oluf Oken, 1820s
- Jong Gontje Braren 1820s
- Föhrer Bride, ca.1830
- House wedding on Föhr (later version; unfinished), approx. 1830. The picture presumably shows the wedding of Braren's brother Früd in 1808.
literature
- Wilhelm Niemeyer : Oluf Braren, the painter from Föhr, 1787–1839. A biography and. Tribute to the forgotten artist . Furche-Verlag, Berlin 1920.
- Ernst Schlee : The painter Oluf Braren, 1787−1839 . Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Husum 1986, ISBN 3-88042-313-X .
- Lorenz Braren: Gender series St. Laurentii-Föhr . Part II. Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Husum 1980 (reprint).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lorenz Braren, p. 167
- ↑ http://www.ketels.de/vorfahren/mk2g04.htm#36
Web links
- Literature by and about Oluf Braren in the catalog of the German National Library
- Slesvigland 02/1984 (article with pictures)
- Text of the tombstone
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Braren, Oluf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 25, 1787 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oldsum |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 22, 1839 |
| Place of death | Toftum |