Association of Düsseldorf artists

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The association Düsseldorfer Künstlerinnen e. V. is one of the oldest female artists' associations in Germany. The association, which was founded in 1911, has since formed a forum for women artists who are active in all areas of the visual arts and who are connected to the city of Düsseldorf through education, work or residence. The non-profit association represents the interests of the members in publishing their work. In the years of its existence, the association has made significant contributions to cultural life as the organizer of large-scale exhibitions in the Düsseldorf Kunsthalle, the Kunstverein, the Kunstpalast, museums and other institutions.

Foundation of the association and activities from 1911 to 1919

In October 1911 the Düsseldorf Artists Association was founded. The founding members included painters, sculptors, architects and craftsmen. The artists were guided by their right to women's rights. They took part in the fantasies of the first women's movement at the beginning of the 20th century.

As early as 1909, a group of women painters and sculptors met regularly on Wednesdays in Düsseldorf in the premises of the Rheinisches Frauenklub at 121 Bismarckstrasse. This club was founded in 1905. In 1905 Minna Blanckertz was one of the founding women of the Rhenish Women's Club with Clara Poensgen , who was also a member of the Women's Welfare Association , and Agnes Preyer . In 1910 graduates from the Düsseldorf School of Applied Arts , who had already exhibited at the Düsseldorf Artists' Association, joined the group. The following artists belonged to the circle of the first hour:

Mathilde Burghard, Fanny Coupette , Martha Ebeling, Valerie Fuhrmanns, Gertrud Friedersdorf (1882 – after 1930), Eugenie and Helene Gericke, Johanna Helfferich, Ida Herf, Helene Kirberg, Magda Kröner , Henny Kummerfeld , Paula Monjé , Else Neumüller , Berta Perls- Leusden, Helene Rath, Hanny Stüber , Claire Volkhart Juliette Wagner and Meta Weber , who had received private lessons from Hermann Pohle and was married to Carl Plückebaum .

In addition to these artists, the “Rheinisches Frauenclub” was the gathering of predominantly single professionals and socially committed women of the middle class. At that time, women's clubs were considered a moderate wing of the German women's movement; they were the focus of efforts for equality in all areas of life. For the Düsseldorf artists, the club meant access to the public, an opportunity for intellectual exchange and the formulation of political interests.

The group of Düsseldorf artists did not commit to common stylistic means of expression, as was the case with the Blauer Reiter group, for example . The connection to the city of Düsseldorf was important to the members - and this is still the case today. The active members must be connected to the city through education, occupation or residence. In Düsseldorf in 1911 in particular, it was important to break through the dominance of the exclusive male associations, the art academy and the Malkasten artists' association (founded in 1848). At the beginning of the 20th century women were denied the ability to be creative and be creative. So it seemed logical that women were not accepted into art academies, were not allowed to make music in orchestras and were not allowed to become conductors. That is why the founding group of female visual artists tried to get women admitted to art universities.

The association saw itself as a forum for women who were active in all areas of the visual arts. It was important to the artists to make women's art visible in public spaces and to improve their professional situation. Equal participation in exhibition opportunities was the core of the objective.

In the founding year of the Düsseldorf Artists Association, the club had 850 members, including so-called art friends who offered the young artists financial support.

The following other artists were members of the Association of Düsseldorf Artists and Art Lovers:

Paula Arnoldi, Luise Burghard, Luise Bargum, Maria Bewerunge , Lina Bürgers, Emma Friedrich-Bönninger, the architect Therese Mogger (* 1875), one of the earliest chairmen, the sculptor Maria Elisabeth Moog, Anna Quedenfeldt, Luise Wolff-Ebenrod and Adele Schäfer .

Half a year after the club was officially founded, the first exhibition with paintings, sculptures and handicrafts was opened in the club. The first exhibition with national participation took place in the Kunsthalle in 1917 . With this exhibition, the artists succeeded for the first time in occupying the Düsseldorf art space for themselves. Due to their networking with the Düsseldorf women's movement, they were given more support in the city presentations and the large exhibitions in the then Kunstpalast .

First successes and renewed exclusion mechanisms after 1919

With the beginning of the Weimar Republic, the Düsseldorf artists had achieved their core goal of gaining access to training and exhibition institutions. The prerequisite for this was that the German women's movement had fought for political equality for women with women's suffrage in the Weimar constitution.

However, this social recognition was not reflected in the increase in exhibition participation: in 26 exhibitions in the Düsseldorf art scene in the 1920s, the average participation of women was 7.9%. The artists found themselves exposed to subtle mechanisms of exclusion.

In 1927, the Association of Düsseldorf Artists and Art Friends joined GEDOK . In the 1930s, the official connection with the art lovers from the founding days ended. Increasing independence and professionalism were the trigger. The name was changed to the “Association of Düsseldorf Artists” and the name was given that is still valid today.

In 1936, for the 25th anniversary of the association, the exhibition "The German Painter and Sculptor" took place in the Kunstpalast .

The time during National Socialism

The adaptation to the National Socialist regime was actively carried out through membership both in the Nazi mass organizations Reich Chamber of Fine Arts , Berlin and in the German Women's Work . The "Rheinische Frauenclub" had previously stood behind the Nazi movement and also urged its members to do so.

There was a connection between the association and the National Socialist cultural policy. In March and April 1941, the sales exhibition “The German Painter and Sculptor” took place in the Düsseldorf art gallery. It was a public statement on the cultural policy of the Nazi regime. The works of art corresponded to the so-called "species-appropriate art". 25 Düsseldorf artists took part, as evidenced by the exhibition catalog of the Düsseldorf Kunsthalle for the autumn exhibition of Düsseldorf artists 1941.

Current situation

With regard to formal barriers and restrictions of a political nature, the situation for women working in the arts has improved significantly in the 21st century. In the present, women are in the majority in art and advanced courses, in academies and smaller exhibitions; they receive as many sponsorship awards as men and are also represented at the Documenta. Yet they are clearly underrepresented in museums, major galleries and art magazines.

A study of the presence of women in Düsseldorf art institutions in 1999 showed, for example, that in the past 30 years, the Kunsthalle hosted 167 solo exhibitions by men and 8 solo exhibitions by women - that is, only 4.6%. In the tables of the Düsseldorf study it is also noticeable that the art association has shown the works of only 10 women in the last 30 years; in contrast, 111 men were represented.

Many women still have a résumé that is mainly characterized by interruptions. The very own roles and new designs should be able to be discussed openly within a purely women's group without reservation. The exchange about the artistic work and the art business should have a supportive effect and give impulses for individual work.

Currently (2013) the Düsseldorf Artists Association is concerned with funding, targeted public relations, presence in the press and international networking.

As of 2019, the association had 36 female artists as members.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Elke Gaugele: The Association of Düsseldorf Artists and Art Friends 1911 - 1945 in the catalog for the anniversary exhibition The Fly on the Clothesline , Düsseldorf, May 2002
  2. ^ Rheinischer Frauenklub, Bismarckstrasse. 121, 1st chairwoman Mrs. Karl Poensgen, Oststr. 21 2nd Chair: Ms. Ernst Preyer, Treasurer: Miss M. Blanckertz, Bahnstr. 29 , in address book for the city of Düsseldorf, 1908, charities, p. 42
  3. ^ Ariane Neuhaus-Koch: The early years. In: Association of Düsseldorfer Künstlerinnen eV 1911-1991. , Documentation for the 80th anniversary of the Association of Düsseldorfer Künstlerinnen eV, Düsseldorf 1991
  4. ^ Fanny Coupette, born in Trier, painter, Düsseldorf, Jakobistraße 14a, studied with Volkhardt and Mühlig, representatives of the late Düsseldorf school of painting. From 1890 she ran a school studio. Drawing teacher for the Krupp family in Essen. Member of the VDüK. Her exhibitions took place in Düsseldorf and Berlin. , on the Rhineland-Palatinate Bibliography
  5. ↑ Claire Volkhart (1886-1935), wax boss , was married to Anton Theodor Selmair ,
  6. ↑ Dipl.-Ing. Therese Mogger, later: Therese Logger-Geiger, born in Ottobeuren (Bavaria) in 1875, attended the Technical Universities of Munich and (Berlin-) Charlottenburg, (from 1910?) Active as an architect in Düsseldorf, member and (long-term) 1st chairwoman of of the Association of Düsseldorfer Künstlerinnen und Kunstfreundinnen (→ Düsseldorfer Künstlerinnen eV), 1928 as the first woman member of the BDA (?), after 1933 verifiable journalistic activity. , in Ulrich Bücholdt's data collection: Architects, interior designers and craftspeople before 1945 , on kmkbuecholdt.de, accessed on January 26, 2016
  7. ↑ Anke Münster: Artists in Cologne and Düsseldorf from 1918 to 1933 Master's thesis in the subject of art history at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, 1991.
  8. ↑ February 15 - March 22, 1936 Exhibition "The German Painter and Sculptor" organized by the Association of Düsseldorf Women Artists on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of this association in the Kunstpalast , in the address book of the city of Düsseldorf 1937, notable events from October 1, 1933 to 30 September 1936, p. XXIV
  9. ↑ Braster, Fenja; Satori, Sandra (Ed.): Women's presence in exhibitions in Düsseldorf art institutions 1969 - 1998. Cultural Office of the State Capital Düsseldorf , 1999
  10. ↑ Reinhard Fuchs: Women in Art Volume 1, Masterpieces of Fine Art - The Great Women Artists from the Middle Ages to Modern Times Fuchs, Anif, Austria, March 15, 2013, ISBN 978-3-9503574-0-0
  11. ↑ Reinhard Fuchs: Women in Art Volume 1, Masterpieces of Visual Art - The Great Female Artists From The Middle Ages to the Modern Era Fuchs, Arnif, Austria, March 15, 2013, ISBN 978-3-9503574-1-7
  12. ^ Association of Düsseldorfer Künstlerinnen eV - female artists. In: duesseldorfer-kuenstlerinnen.de. web.archive.org, 2019, archived from the original on November 14, 2019 ; accessed on November 14, 2019 .