Peter Philippi

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Peter Philippi (born March 30, 1866 in Trier , † August 17, 1945 in Rothenburg ob der Tauber ) was a German genre painter and portraitist.

Life

origin

Peter Philippi was the son of the Trier bookbinder and bookseller of the same name and the winemaker's daughter Katharina born. Theisen from Rachtig / Mosel. In 1869, his father took over an old bookstore in a prime business location in Trier near the main market. The late Biedermeier furnishings of the shop and the living rooms above were kept unchanged in family ownership for over a century until the bookstore was closed and the property was sold in 1983. In this conservative but business-savvy environment, Peter Philippi jr. his childhood and adolescence - a socialization that would decisively shape his later artistic creation. After attending the Royal High School from 1876 to the end of 1883, he left Trier to study painting in Düsseldorf . There are no indications of previous basic artistic training in Trier.

Art Academy Düsseldorf

The studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy , which began in the winter semester of 1884, lasted, with interruptions such as the military service as a one-year volunteer in Trier in 1891/92, until 1897/1898 and ended with a travel grant. Philippi's certificate of admission to the preparatory class for figure painting from May 25, 1886 was preserved. His teachers included Hugo Crola , Adolf Schill and Johann Peter Theodor Janssen . The highlight of his studies was his stay in the master class of the biblical and history painter Eduard von Gebhardt, although he ignored his predominantly religious motifs for his own work. Philippi sought and found conviviality in the artists' association Malkasten , to which he belonged in 1897/98 as a student member and from 1899 to 1905 as a so-called full member. As early as 1885 he had also founded the artists' association “ Academic Association Tartarus ” with fellow students, including Otto Modersohn , which continued to exist in his networks until at least 1913. Philippi used the alias "Filbert" in the association ; he was portrayed as a contentious person who was open to cultural and art criticism and understood how to write witty and subtle verses. In November 1886, Philippi was excluded from the academy for four weeks because of an incident with Thomas Theodor Heine . Even after completing his studies, Philippi initially resided in Düsseldorf, but continued to maintain regular contact with his hometown Trier. In 1905 he married his fellow student Constanze Schmitz from Berlin in Düsseldorf.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg, part in the old town with Rödergasse and Markusturm

In search of an "unspoiled environment" in 1906, Philippi moved from Düsseldorf to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and rented a spacious apartment there on the market square (Marienapotheke), which he held until the end of his life. In the same year, the Kunstwart Verlag published a first Philippi portfolio with high-quality reproductions of his paintings, which made him known nationwide. Public awards followed in 1910 with the “Prussian Golden Medal for Art and Science” and the appointment as an extraordinary member of the Düsseldorf Art Academy. In 1920/21 he gave the Trier painter Ernst Brand private lessons for over a year in preparation for visiting this training facility. In 1923 Philippi founded the Rothenburger Künstlerbund together with the painters Adolf Hosse, Gustav Lüttgens, Paul Lumnitzer, Hans Prentzel, Wilhelm Schacht, Rudolf Schacht and Arthur Wasse, for which the city provided permanent exhibition space. In 1930 he was also a founding member of the Society of Fine Artists and Art Friends in Trier. After the divorce of his first marriage, from which his only child, daughter Mathilde, came, he married Elisabeth Pies from Trier in 1923. On his 60th birthday in 1926, the Free State of Bavaria awarded him the title of "Professor of Fine Arts". After the so-called seizure of power in 1933, he was accepted into the Reich Chamber of Culture - Reich Chamber of Fine Arts - at his request.

Work overview

The Bachelor, 1929

For Philippi's complete oeuvre, which is manageable with approx. 120 paintings, reference is made to the extensive lists by Beate Decker and Christoph Krapp (cf. lit. catalog). The painter's choice of motifs and titles such as “The bachelor”, “The student”, “Franconian farmer”, “In the hallway”, “Grüß Gott”, “Aunt Adelchen”, “In the summer freshness” or “Coffee visit” etc. . reveals the harmless genre scenes dealt with here.

Stylistic classification

The older line of tradition of the Düsseldorf Academy and models such as Ludwig Knaus, Bejamin Vautier the Elder. Ä., Hugo Oehmichen u. a. following, Philippi dedicated himself to a decidedly representational genre painting in clay colors. Unaffected by contemporary upheavals and art movements, he stuck to this style of painting through the imperial era and two world wars until his death. In terms of motif, he was fixated on a detail-obsessed excursion into the past: the Biedermeier period, including the provincial stragglers of his youth. Philippi valued this period of time as "our last real style epoch", the mood of which he wanted to preserve as an "affair of the heart". He designed his paintings accordingly, which he prepared with meticulous construction drawings in closely set guidelines. He put his protagonists in old-fashioned clothes from the petty bourgeoisie and posted them in appropriate interiors or in a small-town-looking environment. In order to achieve consistency, he chose almost exclusively elderly people and gave their actions slightly anecdotal traits. Extensive bundles of pencil sketches as well as his own collections of photos and antiques served him as supporting tools. For his portrait heads, which are sometimes reminiscent of the Tronjes of old Dutch painting (e.g. Laughing Woman, 1917), he liked to choose models drawn from age and deprivation. If he had portraits to create without this historicizing frame, like the numerous portraits of Trier notables, he ran the risk of getting stuck in the formulaic (Trier mayor of Bruchhausen, 1926).

Ambivalent career summit

Philippi was an able businessman who demanded and received high prices for his commissioned works. Conservative audiences, unsettled by the abundance of modern “isms”, valued his paintings, which were often mistaken for romantic. But public institutions and museums also acquired his works, which included multiple repetitions of popular motifs. However, Philippi owed his high degree of popularity primarily to the reproduction of his paintings in picture folders and thousands of picture postcards. He also presented a cross-section of his work with his volume “The small town and their people”, published in 1938, which, in addition to the visual material, contained his own poems and humorous “experiences with my models” (cf. lit. The plan for this book had matured at the opening of the “Great German Art Exhibition 1937” in Hitler's “House of German Art in Munich” and stood at the beginning of the honors with which the National Socialist system showered the painter. The “delicious, cozy, idyllic small painting with its witty humor” fit perfectly into the art doctrine of the Third Reich, and Philippi was celebrated and delivered. In recognition of his 75th birthday in 1941, he was awarded the “Goethe Medal for Art and Science”, which, after assessing his artistic achievements, was: “Prof. Philippi was always a representative of the best German art ”and was given political reliability and made known in national press releases. The 48 exhibits that he was able to show at the “Great German Art Exhibitions” in Munich between 1937 and 1943 also stand for his steep career during the Nazi era. With this he took a top position among the visual artists, especially since a special exhibition with 36 paintings was set up for him in the same place in 1943. A large-format portfolio reproduced 16 of the exhibits in four-color printing. In 1944, the pleasant painter was finally included in the " Gottbegnadeten-Liste " (leader list) of the most important painters in the Nazi state. However, these Nazi charges did not seriously affect the demand for his works in the art trade later on; For example, his painting “In der Sommerfrische”, a late repetition of the 1911 version and cover picture of the catalog, was sold for 33,000 DM in a Rhenish auction in 1997. In Rothenburg od T. a path bears his name.

Exhibitions (selection)

  • Trier, 1913 - Exhibition “Eifel art and culture from old and new times”, Trier School of Crafts and Applied Arts
  • Trier, 1921 - Artists' association "Trier painter group", founding exhibition in the Trier casino
  • Trier, 1925 - Trade show on the occasion of the millennium of the Rhineland, Building A = Crafts and Applied Arts School (Philippi as a member of the Trier Artists' Guild)
  • Trier, 1928 - Exhibition of the Free Association of Trier Artists in the Provincial Museum Trier (Philippi as guest of honor)
  • Trier, 1930 - Exhibition "Society of fine artists and art lovers" in the Trier Casino (Philippi as a founding member of the society)
  • Düsseldorf 1932 - "Düsseldorf-Munich Art Exhibition" in the Kunstpalast (Philippi as a member of the association for the organization of art exhibitions in Düsseldorf)
  • Trier, 1936 - Special exhibition for Philippi's 70th birthday, organized by the Moselle Museum of the city of Trier, the artist's circle of friends and the Nazi cultural community
  • Munich, 1937 to 1943 - National Socialist "Great German Art Exhibition in the House of German Art in Munich." Annual participation by Philippi.
  • Munich, 1943 - Special show with 36 paintings by Philippi as part of the Great German Art Exhibition in 1943
  • Trier, 1944 - Museum of the City of Trier, exhibition "New acquisitions in 1943"
  • Trier, 1985 - Städtisches Museum Simeonstift Trier, exhibition on the 40th anniversary of his death "Peter Philippi (1866–1945) - The small town and its people"
  • Rothenburg, 2016 - “Peter Philippi. Retrospective for the 150th birthday ”, exhibition in the Reichsstadtmuseum Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Literature (selection)

  • Peter Philippi: The small town and its people - pictures / experiences / poems. Introduction by Carl Meißner. Walter Hädecke Verlag Stuttgart 1938 and 1945–1949.
  • Beate Decker: Peter Philippi. Life and work. One of the last masters of the genre. Master's thesis University of Trier, Faculty III - Art History, 1990.
  • Christoph Krapp: Notes on the biography and work of the Trier painter Peter Philippi (1866–1945). In: New Trierisches Jahrbuch 1999, pp. 45–64.
  • Willy Oskar Dressler: Dressler's Art Yearbook, Berlin 1921, p. 447.
  • Ulrich Thieme / Felix Becker (eds.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present, Leipzig, 1932 (unaltered reprint Leipzig 1999), Volume 26, p. 550.
  • Saur, General Artist Lexicon, Bio-bibliographical Index A – Z, Munich / Leipzig 2000, p. 742.
  • Bénézit, Dictionary of Artists, Volume 10, Gründ 2006, p. 1326.
  • Joachim Busse: International Handbook of All Painters and Sculptors of the 19th Century, Wiesbaden 1977, p. 971.
  • Bernd Brauksiepe / Anton Neugebauer: Artist Lexicon Rhineland-Palatinate - painters and graphic artists from 1450 to 1950. Mainz 1986, pp. 185–186.
  • Hans Paffrath (Ed.): Lexicon of the Düsseldorf School of Painting 1819–1918. Volume 3: Nabert-Zwecker. Published by the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf in the Ehrenhof and by the Paffrath Gallery. Bruckmann, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7654-3011-0 , pp. 91-93.
  • Paul Mauder: Trier painting - Trier painter groups and Trier painters. In: Trierische Heimat, 7th year, issue 7, April 1931, pp. 97–99 and issue 8/9, May / June 1931, pp. 117–119.
  • Sabine Schroyen: Image sources on the history of the artists' association Malkasten in Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf 2001, pp. 256 and 507 ("Tartarus").
  • Martin Mendgen: Small memories of Peter Philippi. In: Trierisches Jahrbuch 1958, pp. 60–63.
  • Michael Berens: The other Philippi - photos from the Steipenbering. In: New Trierisches Jahrbuch 1996, pp. 40–47.
  • Carl Murdfield : Paintbox anecdotes and artist memories, Düsseldorf, 1927.
  • Hellmuth Möhring: Peter Philippi (1866–1945) - Retrospective for the 150th birthday. Accompanying brochure for the special exhibition from May 7th. - 28.08.2016 in the Reichsstadtmuseum Rothenburg odT on the occasion of the 150th year of birth of the artist, Reichsstadtmuseum (publisher), museum booklet No. 6, Rothenburg odT 2016.

Web links

Commons : Peter Philippi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christoph Krapp: On the history of the Grach's bookstore Weber-Philippi in Trier. In: New Trierisches Jahrbuch 1996, pp. 133-139.
  2. ↑ The leaving certificate of January 11, 1884 does not indicate a higher education entrance qualification.
  3. ^ Peter Philippi: Autobiographical information. In: The small town and its people, such as Lit. Verz., Pp. 13–15. He measured the duration of study there as "five classes, the last three of which required several years."
  4. ↑ Register No. 954 of the Art Academy, illustration by Christoph Krapp, 1999, p. 47.
  5. ↑ Sabine Schroyen MA - archiv@malkasten.org: Information from October 20, 2015: After initial contacts in 1893, Philippi was a student member, so-called "academician" (card member "B") with restricted rights, and from 1899 to 1897/98 1905 registered as a so-called "full member" with all rights.
  6. ↑ Information from the paint box archive as above; Beate Decker, 1990, p. 20.
  7. ↑ Behavior "not flawless", preparatory class A by Hugo Crola in inventory signature BR 0004 No. 1561 of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, sheet 558V, school year 1886
  8. ^ A larger bundle of letters from Philippi from 1936 to 1944 to the Trier museum director Dr. Walter Dieck and the local writer Ferdinand Laven in the autograph collection of the Trier City Archives.
  9. ^ Peter Philippi: Autobiographical information. In: The small town and its people, as before.
  10. ↑ Ferdinand Avenarius (ed. And introduction): Philippi-Mappe, Kunstwart-Verlag Georg Callwey Munich, 1906, with 7 illustrations. A new edition followed in 1921.
  11. ^ Information from the Federal Archives Berlin from October 28, 2015; AZ: BArch, R 1 - 2000 / K-157, (formerly BDC), Reich Chamber of Culture and R 55/96. The personnel number was 1363-M.
  12. ↑ In addition to painting, Philippi also dealt with the illustration of fairy tales, bookplates, stamps and banknote designs.
  13. ↑ Peter Philippi: Autobiographical information, as above.
  14. ^ "Isms" as a summary of the art movements in the life span of Philippi: Impressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, Expressionism, Dadaism etc.
  15. ↑ The official exhibition catalog 1943 in the House of German Art in Munich, shows Philippi as a lender a. a. the Reichspostministerium Berlin, the Nationalgalerie Berlin, the Moselle Museum of the city of Trier and the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich.
  16. ↑ For example, more than 40,000 picture postcards were sold annually in 1943/44.
  17. ↑ "For guidance", written by the Walter Hädecke publishing house. In: Peter Philippi: Die kleine Stadt pp., Like Lit. Verz., 3. - 5. Tausend, S. 5. Changed in later editions.
  18. ↑ From: For guidance, as above.
  19. ↑ Information from the Federal Archives of October 28, 2015 as above; Az: BArch, R1-2000 / K-157; NS 5-VI / 17697 and R 55/96. I.a. Press release in the Frankfurter Zeitung of April 1, 1941 about the awarding of the Goethe Medal to Peter Philippi by the "Führer".
  20. ↑ GDK Research - Image-based research platform to the Great German Art Exhibitions 1937-1944 in Munich. www.gdk-research.de, accessed on November 2, 2015.
  21. ↑ Peter Philippi - House of German Art (Hrsg.): 16 paintings from the special show Peter Philippi, shown in the great German art exhibition in 1943 in the House of German Art in Munich. Portfolio, Munich 1943.
  22. ^ Ernst Klee : The culture lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945 (= The time of National Socialism. Vol. 17153). Completely revised edition. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-17153-8 , p. 41.
  23. ^ Kunsthaus am Museum, Cologne: Catalog of the 171st auction - Old Art 19 to 21 March 1997. Lot No. 1597. Cologne 1997, p. 151.
personal data
SURNAME Philippi, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH March 30, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH trier
DATE OF DEATH August 17, 1945
Place of death Rothenburg ob der Tauber