Paul Thiersch

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Thiersch (born May 2, 1879 in Munich , † November 15, 1928 in Hanover ) was a German architect . From 1915 to 1928 he was director of the Halle School of Applied Arts at Burg Giebichenstein , which later became the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art in Halle .

Life

family

Paul Thiersch came from the Thiersch family , from which numerous architects, scientists and artists emerged. His grandfather was the eminent philologist and theologian Heinrich Wilhelm Josias Thiersch , his father the architect and university professor August Thiersch and his older brother the classical archaeologist Hermann Thiersch .

Professional background

Thiersch's stage design for Fidelio , act 1 (watercolor 1920)

After completing secondary school and doing a brief bricklayer job, he completed the technical college in Winterthur in 1897/98 and artistic training at the trade school in Basel in 1900/01 . From 1901 to 1904 he studied at the Technical University in Munich with Martin Dülfer and Theodor Fischer, among others . After completing his studies, Thiersch took on a position at the Munich City Planning Department. In 1906 he became office manager for the Düsseldorf architect and painter Peter Behrens , in 1907 he moved to Berlin to work in the same position for Bruno Paul and taught at the Kunstgewerbemuseum as an assistant teacher in architectural drawing. In 1909 he opened his own architecture office in Berlin. Through his brother-in-law Kurt Hildebrandt , he came into contact with an intellectual group in Berlin that gathered in Lichterfelde . The circle, whose central figures were primarily Friedrich Wolters and Berthold Vallentin , after initially connecting with the historian Kurt Breysig, increasingly turned to the poet Stefan George , who had attended the group.

In 1915, Thiersch applied to run the Halle Crafts School and was appointed director on the recommendation of Bruno Paul from a group of 76 applicants. He reformed the school within the meaning of German Work Federation into a modern educational institution that since 1918 the name of Arts and Crafts School Hall (after moving into the rooms of the lower castle) the name and from 1922 workshops of the City Hall, State Urban Kunstgewerbeschule Burg Giebichenstein led . Among other things , he hired Maria Likarz for arts and crafts design and enamelling, the sculptor Gustav Weidanz for plastic, the bookbinder Otto Pfaff for hand binding, the painter Erwin Hahs for painting and graphics and from 1920 his former student Johanna Wolff for the teaching staff Head of the newly established textile class and hand weaving. Thiersch himself took over the management of the specialist class for architecture and interior design.

Paul Thiersch set the focus of the creative training on the idea of ​​the total work of art and in this agreed with the fundamental ideas of the Werkbund and the Bauhaus . Philosophically, he was strongly influenced by the ideas of the George Circle, of which he was an active member. By establishing the free classes for painting, graphics, sculpture and architecture, Thiersch created a training potential that went far beyond the arts and crafts school. His program is still represented today by the departments of the University of Art and Design Burg Giebichenstein .

Kröllwitz Bridge

The Burg Giebichenstein School of Applied Arts in Halle, or the Burg for short , was soon one of the leading art schools in Germany. At trade fairs at home and abroad, she was very successful with factory shows and exhibits. Thiersch himself also endeavored as an architect to help design the town and commission the castle. In 1926, for example, he was involved in the design of the new Kröllwitzer Bridge over the Saale, together with Gerhard Marcks, which is one of the city's landmarks today. In the same year he designed the construction program for the new Halle / Leipzig airport , of which only the aircraft hangar was realized. Thiersch achieved greater success with projects in his master studio for stage equipment , of which he created over 40 for theaters in Halle, Leipzig and Göttingen . From 1921 to 1926, Thiersch was also director of the museum in the Moritzburg in Halle, an art museum with a nationwide presence. Works by Emil Nolde , Franz Marc and Oskar Kokoschka were acquired under his leadership .

In the hope of finally being able to build, he accepted an appointment at the Technical University of Hanover in 1928 , chair of spatial art and architecture. The sculptor Gerhard Marcks , whom Thiersch had brought to the castle from the Bauhaus in Dessau in 1925, was appointed his successor in Halle . Just a few weeks later, Paul Thiersch died at the age of 49 in Hanover. In his honor, a street in Halle, Paul-Thiersch-Strasse in the Südliche Neustadt district , was named.

Marriage and offspring

Thiersch was married to the painter Fanny Hildebrandt . They had a daughter, Gemma Wolters-Thiersch (1907-1994), and two sons named Stefan and Urban. All three children were very close to the George Circle . Gemma became a goldsmith and was the wife of Friedrich Wolters from 1926 until his death in 1930. After the Second World War , she allied herself with Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and later with Rudolf Fahrner . Together, the three siblings carried Stefan Georges' ideas on in projects at Juist ( Weberhof ) and in Überlingen on Lake Constance ( Haus am See ). Stefan Thiersch (* 1911; † 1984) was an architect and was responsible for the structural measures. Urban Thiersch (* 1916; † 1984) was a sculptor. During the Second World War , he was also the personal adjutant of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and was deeply involved in the events surrounding the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Collected Works. Edited by Stefano Bianca and Bruno Pieger. Volume 1: Poetry and Interpretation. Volume 2: Memories and Documents. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2008.
personal data
SURNAME Thiersch, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 1928
Place of death Hanover