Rudolf Jacob Zeller
Rudolf Jacob Zeller (born October 17, 1880 in Hamburg ; died January 22, 1948 in Heerlen / Netherlands) was a sought-after portrait painter in Hamburg. From 1935 he was no longer allowed to practice his profession in Germany. In 1938 he emigrated to the Netherlands .
Life
education
Zeller studied at the academy in Karlsruhe with Carlos Grethe and at the academy in Stuttgart with Leopold von Kalckreuth , whose style he leaned heavily in the early days.
Profession and work
After completing his studies, he returned to Hamburg and initially moved into a studio in the Semperhaus on Spitalerstraße . In 1912 he already had his first solo exhibition. In 1921 he was a member of the Hamburg Artists 'Association from 1832 and later the Hamburg Artists' Association . Since the early twenties he has been teaching private students in order to make a living for himself and his family. He and his wife Eva (nee Behn) had three sons, one of whom died at the age of ten. As an art teacher, he enjoyed a great reputation in Hamburg. Among his students were Else Weber , who also portrayed him several times, Ingeborg von Laffert and Lotte von Petersdorff-Speiser.
In terms of motif, Zeller preferred not only figures but also landscapes. However, he earned a large part of his living by commissioning portraits from the Hamburg bourgeoisie . He perfectly fulfilled the expectations of his clients because he portrayed the sitter in a conventional, dignified pose. The earlier commissioned works seem a bit stiff and dry, but in 1920 he painted the lively and spontaneous portrait of Berthold Litzmann. 3rd-6th In May 1935 he portrayed the writer Thomas Mann in his apartment in Küsnach near Zurich: “The picture has become an excellent portrait study”. The painting was exhibited in the shop window on May 25 in Zurich “in the new bookstore at the train station”. It cannot be found to this day. Zeller received from Thomas Mann his The Stories of Jacob and The Young Joseph with the dedications: "Rudolf Zeller with good wishes and greetings appropriated" resp. “To Rudolf Zeller in memory of successful portrait sessions.” Both dated: “Küsnach 31.VII.36”.
Zeller's self-portrait, which he painted in 1944, immediately after the liberation of the southern Netherlands, which was occupied by the Germans, is remarkable: against a dark background, he looks at the viewer, illuminated by the bright spotlight. Nevertheless, he appears withdrawn, his eyes are shaded by his forehead. In honor of the liberation he put an orange flower in his buttonhole in the picture; wearing this national color was impossible during the German occupation. The color is that of the Dutch royal family Oranje-Nassau .
Effects of National Socialist Rule
On April 25, 1933, the Hamburg artists' association excluded Zeller from their ranks because of his Jewish origins. Two years later, in 1935, the professional ban followed. In 1937, the year of the “ Degenerate Art ” propaganda campaign , Zeller's wife took her own life because she could no longer bear the repression by the National Socialists . One son, Alfred, immigrated to Ecuador . Zeller himself emigrated to the Netherlands in 1938 together with the pianist Walter Kaufmann. The two settled in Zandvoort and farmed together. Kaufmann gave piano lessons and Zeller occasionally commissioned portraits.
In 1942 they moved to Maastricht to live with a relative (married to Mendes de Leon) of Kaufmann , as it was forbidden for Jewish citizens to live near the coast since the German invasion. When they had to register here and the deportations to the east began, they went into hiding . The two then went their separate ways, although Kaufmann stayed nearby. Zeller was taken in and hidden by the Van Hoorn family in Heerlen . He could go outside now and then; if something happens, the artist should pretend to be deaf and dumb because he did not speak perfect Dutch . Kaufmann also survived the war safely.
End of the Nazi rule
The artist lived with the Van Hoorn family for a year and a half in the war, always afraid of attracting attention and being denounced. The day of the liberation by the Americans turned out to be an overwhelming event for Zeller too. When the tanks of the US Army rolled past in the direction of Aachen , the hour of freedom had finally come. Many American soldiers were received hospitably by the Van Hoorn family; Zeller drew many of them and gave the portraits to the liberators.
After the war ended, Zeller stayed with Van Hoorns in Heerlen. He got in touch with his sons Richard and Alfred. Portrait orders came again. He also painted portraits of Mrs. Van Hoorn and other family members. Shortly before leaving for his son Alfred, who lived in Ecuador, he died suddenly, on January 22, 1948, of a heart condition.
literature
- Maike Bruhns: Fled from Germany. Hamburg artist in exile 1933-1945. Catalog for the exhibition at the Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte , Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-3-86108-890-5 , pp. 178–180.
- Thomas Mann: Diaries 1935-1936. Edited by Peter de Mendelssohn. Frankfurt 1978.
- Berthold Litzmann: In old Germany. Memories of a sixty year old. Berlin 1923. With cover picture after the painting by Rudolf Zeller, Hamburg 1920.
- De kunstschilder Rudolf Zeller 1880-1948 en de family van Hoorn-van Balen. Overveen, 2009.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ (TM Diaries 1935-36, pp. 92-95, 113, 484-485).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zeller, Rudolf Jacob |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zeller, Rudolph Jacob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Dutch portrait painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 17, 1880 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 22, 1948 |
| Place of death | Heerlen |