Selma Des Coudres

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Self-portrait Selma Des Coudres
Adolf Des Coudres asleep
Weiherhaus
Isar
Interior with a green floor lamp

Selma Des Coudres (born Plawneek ; * 2. January 1883 in Riga , Russian Empire ; † 4. March 1956 in Fuerstenfeldbruck ) was a Latvian-German painter of modernity . Des Coudres was a founding member of the Fürstenfeldbruck artists' association. Her work includes drawings, landscapes, still lifes, portraits and illustrations and spans stylistically from Japanese Art Nouveau to Expressionism .

Life

Childhood and youth

Des Coudres was born as Selma Plawneek (Lat. Zelma Pļavniece) on January 2, 1883 in Riga. Her father, the timber wholesaler Thomas Plawneek, lost all of his property after a fire in 1891 and died that same year. The mother Olga, b. Brunowski, received drawing lessons in her youth and promoted the artistic talent of her daughter.

Training and first publications in Riga

Plawneek attended the drawing school of the German-Baltic painter Elise Jung-Stilling in Riga. In 1903 she received a diploma as a drawing teacher for medium-sized schools from the St. Petersburg Academy, which entitles her to teach at public girls' schools. After school she studied nude drawing and landscape painting with Vilhelms Purvītis in Jan Rosenthal's studio .

Plawneek first showed her qualities as an illustrator in the publication Kiefern im Schnee. Baltic Seals , published in Riga in 1906. Her illustrations for the contemporary Baltic poems and fairy tales reproduce parts of the landscapes and cityscapes of Latvia and are stylistically clearly influenced by Art Nouveau . Between 1908 and 1912, the yearbook for fine arts in the Baltic provinces repeatedly printed paintings, drawings and illustrations by Plawneeks. Between 1909 and 1919 she showed oil paintings, drawings, woodcuts and linocuts at numerous exhibitions in the Rigaer Kunstverein and the Municipal Museum together with Vilhelms Purvītis, Jan Rosenthal, Bernhard Borchert, Gerhard von Rosen and other great Baltic artists. Wilhelm Neumann , director of the city art museum in Riga, acquired two linocuts and the stone print Kiefernwald for the museum in 1909 . Plawneek probably also belonged to the Baltic Artists Association, which was founded in 1910 and organized exhibitions.

Riga - Dachau - Feldwies

In 1909 Plawneek received a grant from the city of Riga, which was financed from the estate of the artist Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820–1895) to promote the artists in his hometown. With the funds from the scholarship, she worked with Max Doerner in Munich and with Adolf Hölzel in Dachau in the summer of 1909 . In the summer months of 1910 and 1911 she attended Julius Exter's summer painting school in Feldwies am Chiemsee . Exters painting style of expressive colourfulness and the "liberation of the color from the object" had a great influence on the painter. She mainly dealt with the landscape genre. In Munich Plawneek frequented the legendary Munich artist pub Simplicissimus , where she met Joachim Ringelnatz in 1909 . With him, who called her Wanjka and described her as a “very talented, poor painter”, she had a lifelong, close friendship. The autobiography My Life until the War , published in 1931, was dedicated by the poet to “My friend Wanjka, Mrs. Selma Des Coudres”.

The artist commuted between Munich and Riga until August 1914 . During the First World War she showed her works in various exhibitions. In June 1918, Plawneek's works were shown as part of the extensive Livonia-Estonia exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin, which aimed to draw attention to the achievements of Baltic culture. The show then moved to Hamburg and Lübeck. In July 1919 Selma Plawneek turned her back on her Latvian homeland and settled permanently in Fürstenfeldbruck.

In Fürstenfeldbruck

Around 1900, Fürstenfeldbruck had developed into a retreat for artists who were trying to escape the grueling and expensive business of the cultural metropolis of Munich. At first the painter lived in the house of the Wurmdobler family at Fürstenfelder Strasse 4. In 1919 she showed two oil paintings, Herbstmorgen and Weiher, in the Munich art exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace in the Free Art Exhibition section . In 1918 she met Adolf Des Coudres (1862–1924). On November 3, 1921, she married the landscape painter, who was 20 years her senior. Best man was the writer Hans Erich Blaich alias Dr. Owlglass . The artist couple was the topic of conversation in Fürstenfeldbruck. While Adolf Des Coudres was a rather short man, his wife, a tall, stately Baltic woman, towered over him unmistakably. In addition to the obvious difference in size, there was the enormous difference in age. There was a close friendly relationship with the family of the painter Henrik Moor . Selma Des Coudres exhibited in Munich for the last time in 1923. In the free art exhibition she showed the paintings evening sun , potato harvest and landscape . On September 21, 1924, Adolf Des Coudres died in Fürstenfeldbruck.

Cemetery of the Catholic parish church of St. Johann Baptist & Evangelist in Emmering, tombstone of the Des Coudres family: Luise Des Coudres (1859–1915), Adolf des Coudres (1862–1924), Selma des Coudres, b. Plawneek (1883-1956)

After the death of her husband, Des Coudres turned to the regional art market and in 1924, together with painters, sculptors, writers and musicians who lived in Fürstenfeldbruck and the surrounding area, founded the Kunstverein Fürstenfeldbruck, which was renamed the Künstlerfeldbruck that same year. At times Des Coudres was a member of the board of the artists' association. With the rest of her fortune, lost in the inflation of 1923 , she had a small house built, the Schäferkarren , at 22 Hindenburgstrasse. The architect was Lars Landschreiber, the son of his painter colleague Max Landschreiber. During the inflationary period, Des Coudres began producing routine portrait miniatures, but gradually switched to large-format oil portraits for health reasons. During and after the Second World War , Des Coudres mainly sold portraits and flower still lifes. Their ongoing struggle for existence against world-historical catastrophes and financial and health problems ultimately forced them to take back their initially “wild” design ideas and level them out in favor of a provincial taste in art. Selma Des Coudres died on March 4, 1956. She was buried next to her husband in the old Emmeringen cemetery.

plant

None of the early oil paintings that Plawneek / Des Coudres showed at the exhibitions in Riga have survived. The few graphic works from this earlier period are kept in the Latvian National Art Museum in Riga. Selma Des Coudres' early woodcuts and lithographs show landscapes that are inspired by the Japanese art nouveau color woodcuts. Above all, the pine forests typical of Latvia, regional architecture and rural scenes determined the painter's first works. In the lexicon of Baltic artists from 1908 Wilhelm Neumann wrote about her: "She has made by characteristic representations of public life and gracefully given fairy tale illustrations, they like to be reproduced comes close, in an old woodcut known."

Stylized forms, strong lines that correspond with colored surfaces and monumental motifs that often extend beyond the edge of the picture are typical of Selma Des Coudres' visual language. Despite their decorative character, their works have their own, slightly melancholy mood. The proximity to the painting of the Neu-Dachau group , to Ludwig Dill , Adolf Hölzel and the woodcuts by Carl Thiemann is clearly noticeable. The few known oil paintings from around 1920 are thoroughly avant-garde and, due to their vibrant colors and expressionistic painting style , fall out of the ordinary. The pictorial themes of the early Fürstenfeldbrucker years relate mainly to their immediate surroundings: images of the local area, interiors, probably their apartment, still life with flowers and portraits. The expressivity and abstraction have been greatly reduced in favor of a more realistic representation in terms of color .

Works (selection)

  • Self portrait
  • Willow by the water
  • Adolf Des Coudres asleep
  • Weiherhaus
  • Isar
  • Interior with a green floor lamp
  • Gazebo
  • Farm with harvest wagon
  • Field workers
  • Still life with a beer mug

Exhibitions

  • 2014: Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, Museum Fürstenfeldbruck.
  • 2008: Electrine and the others. Women artists 1700 to 2000, Museum Fürstenfeldbruck.
  • 1988: 12th painting exhibition "Painter in Bruck", Sparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck.

literature

  • Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.): Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014.
  • Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (ed.): Electrine and the others. Artists 1700 to 2000. Catalog for the exhibition of the same name in the Fürstenfeldbruck City Museum, 2008.
  • Joachim Ringelnatz: My life until the war. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 1994.
  • Exhibition catalog of the Stadtsparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck: "Painters in Bruck". Six artists from two generations: Johanna Oppenheimer, Selma Des Coudres, Katharina von Martens, Lily Koebner-Linke, Hildegard Mössel, Elisabeth Bunge.
  • Kreis- und Stadtsparkasse FFB (Ed.): “Painter in the Fürstenfeldbrucker Land. A memory book ”, Hirmer Verlag, Munich 1988.
  • Georg-Dehio-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Lexicon of Baltic German Visual Artists, Science and Politics, Cologne 1983.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eva von Seckendorff: Selma Des Coudres, born. Plawneek - A painter between Riga and Fürstenfeldbruck, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unlikely artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014. Selma Des Coudres to Paul Campe, January 5, 1951. Herder Institute Marburg, Document Collection DSHI 100 Campe 18a p. 291
  2. ↑ Selma Des Coudres to Paul Campe, January 5, 1951. Herder Institute Marburg, Document Collection DSHI 100 Campe 18a p. 291
  3. ↑ Baiba Vanaga: Artists between Riga and Munich, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014, 113. Letter from Selma Des Coudres to the management of the municipal art museum, November 9, 1907.
  4. ↑ Verena Beaucamp: Biographical Notes - Selma Des Coudres, in Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014, 133.
  5. ↑ Rigaische Zeitung No. 65 of March 20, 1909
  6. ↑ Selma Des Coudres to Paul Campe, January 5, 1951. Herder Institute Marburg, Document Collection DSHI 100 Campe 18a p. 291
  7. ↑ Elmar Schmid: Painting School Professor Exter, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014, 117.
  8. ↑ On the meaning of this friendship: Nicolai Des Coudres: “My dear Wanjka ...” The lifelong friendship between Joachim Ringelnatz and Selma Des Coudres, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014, 91. Joachim Ringelnatz: My life up to the war. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 1994, 236/237
  9. ↑ Joachim Ringelnatz: My life up to the war, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek June 1966
  10. ↑ Verena Beaucamp: Biographical Notes - Selma Des Coudres, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014, 133.
  11. ^ AK Berlin, 205.
  12. ↑ Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014.
  13. ↑ Selma Des Coudres to Paul Campe, January 5, 1951. Herder Institute Marburg, Document Collection DSHI 100 Campe 18a p. 291
  14. ↑ Selma Des Coudres to Paul Campe, January 5, 1951. Herder Institute Marburg, Document Collection DSHI 100 Campe 18a p. 291
  15. ^ Eva von Seckendorff, Selma Des Coudres, b. Plawneek - A painter between Riga and Fürstenfeldbruck, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014.
  16. ^ Neumann, Lexicon of Baltic Artists, 1908.
  17. ↑ Angelika Mundorff and Eva von Seckendorff on behalf of the city of Fürstenfeldbruck (eds.): Electrine and the others. Women artists 1700 to 2000, 2008.
  18. ^ Eva von Seckendorff, Selma Des Coudres, b. Plawneek - A painter between Riga and Fürstenfeldbruck, in: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (eds.), Selma and Adolf Des Coudres. An unequal artist couple, exhibition catalog of the Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Coudres, Selma des
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coudres, Selma Des; Plawneek, Selma (maiden name); Pļavniece, Zelma
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Latvian-German painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga
DATE OF DEATH March 4th 1956
Place of death Fürstenfeldbruck