Theo Schmuz-Baudiß

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Theo Schmuz-Baudiß, around 1908

Theo Schmuz-Baudiß (born August 4, 1859 in Herrnhut , † June 20, 1942 in Partenkirchen ; full name: Theodor Hermann Schmuz-Baudiß ) was a German painter , ceramist and porcelain modeller. From 1902 to 1925 he worked at the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM) .

Life

Memorial plaque in Herrnhut at the birthplace

Theo Schmuz was born on August 4, 1859 in Herrnhut in Upper Lusatia, the son of the soap boiler Hermann Schmuz and his wife Mathilde Rudolphine Baudiß. After training at the Munich School of Applied Arts , he studied at the Munich Art Academy from 1882 to 1890 and became a master student of Wilhelm Lindenschmit the Elder. Ä. In the 1890s he worked as a painter in Munich- Schwabing and exhibited regularly in the Munich Glass Palace . Under the influence of the emerging Art Nouveau , Schmuz-Baudiß turned to applied art in 1896 . In addition to ceramics , furniture designs and illustrations for the magazine “ Jugend ” were initially created . On behalf of the United Workshops for Art in Crafts , he worked in the porcelain factory Theodor Swaine & Co. in Hüttensteinach, Thuringia, from 1899 . In 1902 he was appointed designer at the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM) and moved with his family to Berlin . In 1908 he was promoted to artistic director of KPM and held this position successfully until his retirement in 1925. Schmuz-Baudiß spent his old age in Partenkirchen, where he died on June 20, 1942.

family

In 1893, Theo Schmuz-Baudiß married Wilhelmine Trenkl (1863–1927), and the marriage resulted in a daughter. Elisabeth Schmuz-Baudiß (1895–1955), later married Schily, was the mother of the SPD politician and former Federal Interior Minister Otto Schily and the FDP member of the Bundestag Konrad Schily .

plant

Theo Schmuz-Baudiß's early pictorial work is influenced by the romantic history painting of the late 19th century, but also shows stylistic echoes of impressionism . A preference for Japanese motifs is striking .

As an applied artist, Schmuz-Baudiß was entirely committed to Art Nouveau. His early ceramics were created on the potter's wheel , later he also worked in earthenware , since 1900 exclusively in porcelain . As a porcelain designer, Schmuz-Baudiß attached great importance to the unity of form and decor. Characteristic are simple, strict vessel shapes, often loosened up by imaginatively designed handles or plastic decors that are taken from nature's motifs. Initially influenced by the leading Danish porcelain manufacturers at the time, Königlich Copenhagen and Bing & Grøndahl , Schmuz-Baudiß quickly found his own, unmistakable design style, which was characterized by strong colors and strongly stylized, geometrically abstracted plant and animal decors. He preferred the technique of underglaze painting , which he enriched with the sgraffito process he developed . The decor is scratched into the form before painting, which creates a particularly three-dimensional, three-dimensional effect.

Schmuz-Baudiß created numerous individual objects for KPM, such as vases, bowls and lidded vessels, but also a few services. One of his most important works is the 40-piece “Ceres” dinner service, which he designed in 1913 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of KPM. After the First World War, mainly picture plates with picturesque landscapes were created. In the last years of his life, Schmuz-Baudiß returned entirely to painting.

reception

Theo Schmuz-Baudiß's importance lies not only in his own artistic work, but also in his function as a mediator of new ideas and design approaches.

As a ceramist and porcelain designer, Schmuz-Baudiß was one of the leading artistic personalities of German Art Nouveau. In 1904 he was awarded the title of professor, and since 1905 he has taught at the Berlin School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Charlottenburg . In 1906 KPM showed exclusively porcelain from him at the Third German Applied Arts Exhibition in Dresden in 1906 in a presentation room that he had designed with Alfred Grenander and equipped his furniture and showcases. In 1907 he was appointed to the prominent Royal Prussian Chamber of Experts. As an early member of the German Werkbund , he was able to exercise his influence.

As artistic director of the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin, Schmuz-Baudiß played a major role in the reorientation of the manufactory, which from 1902 increasingly turned to modernity. He expanded the figure program to include contemporary designs by Adolf Amberg , Hermann Hubatsch , Josef Wackerle and Anton Puchegger . In addition, he succeeded in setting new impulses in decorative painting. With the designs by Willy Stanke , Franz Türcke and Adolf Flad , there was a renaissance of onglaze painting at KPM under Schmuz-Baudiß. The modern course taken by Schmuz-Baudiß brought KPM international recognition, but also led to tension with the conservative-minded imperial and royal family, to which the manufacture was formally subordinate until 1918.

When he left office in 1925, the press praised Schmuz-Baudiß as the innovator and reorganizer of Berlin porcelain. His works are represented in numerous private and museum collections, including a. in the Bröhan Museum Berlin, in the Porzellanikon Selb and in the Hetjens Museum Düsseldorf.

On the occasion of Theo Schmuz-Baudiß's 130th birthday, the Porzellanikon organized its first retrospective in 1989. In 2013, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of KPM, the Bröhan Museum in Berlin dedicated a large special exhibition to the porcelain of the Schmuz-Baudiß era.

literature

  • Irene von Treskow: The Art Nouveau porcelains of the KPM. Inventory catalog of the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin 1896–1914. Prestel-Verlag, Munich 1971, ISBN 3-7913-0345-7 .
  • Karl H. Bröhan (ed.), Ingeborg Becker (arrangement): Berlin porcelain from Art Nouveau to functionalism 1889-1939. (Exhibition catalog) Bröhan Museum, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-9801525-0-2 .
  • Wilhelm Siemen (ed.): An Art Nouveau artist of the first order. Theodor Hermann Schmuz-Baudiss (1859-1942). (Exhibition catalog) German Porcelain Museum, Hohenberg an der Eger 1989.
  • Helena Horn: Theodor Schmuz-Baudiß (1859-1942). From painter in Munich to artistic director of the Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur Berlin. Dissertation, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart 2009, online .
  • Tobias Hoffmann, Claudia Kanowski (Ed.): Lust for decor. KPM porcelains between Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The Theo Schmuz-Baudiß era. Wienand Verlag, Berlin / Cologne 2013, ISBN 978-3-86832-182-1 , therein:
    • Anna Grosskopf: “It depends on how modernity is presented.” Theo Schmuz-Baudiß and his innovations for KPM. Pp. 14-25.
    • Claudia Kanowski: "Strictly in form - friendly animated". Theo Schmuz-Baudiß's Ceres service. Pp. 64-75.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Memorial plaque on the house where he was born in Herrnhut
  2. ↑ Horn p. 15
  3. ↑ Torsten Krauel: Ice Prince from a good home , Welt.de on July 10, 2001
  4. ^ Wilhelm Siemen (1989), p. 105 ff .; Helena Horn (2009), p. 47 ff .; Anna Grosskopf (2013), p. 14 f.
  5. ↑ Anna Grosskopf (2013), 18 f.
  6. ↑ Claudia Kanowski (2013)
  7. ^ Jürgen Wetzel: Berlin in the past and present . In: Landesarchiv Berlin (Ed.): Yearbook of the Landesarchiv Berlin 2003 . Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2003, p. 45 ( google.de ).
  8. ↑ Anna Grosskopf (2013), p. 21.
  9. ^ Wilhelm Siemen (1989)
  10. ^ Exhibition Lust for Decor, KPM porcelains between Art Nouveau and Art Deco on the website of the Bröhan Museum, accessed on October 9, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Schmuz-Baudiß, Theo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmuz-Baudiß, Theodor Hermann (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, ceramist and porcelain modeller
DATE OF BIRTH 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Herrnhut
DATE OF DEATH 1942
Place of death Partenkirchen