Walter Kampmann
Walter Kampmann (* 4. December 1887 in Elberfeld ; † 12. December 1945 in Berlin ) was a German painter of Expressionism , graphic artist and sculptor .
life and work
The son of music director Wilhelm Kampmann graduated from high school and studied at the Elberfeld art school. In 1913 his son Bodo Kampmann was born, a well-known sculptor, designer and set designer. Between 1914 and 1918 he was stationed in France as a soldier in the First World War . In 1919 he was appointed as a teacher at the textile and fashion school in Berlin.
In the 1920s Kampmann was a teacher at the fashion school of the city of Berlin, where he headed the working group for applied arts. Here he met the student Käthe, who later became his colleague and in 1935 his second wife. Käthe "Kat" Kampmann was also successful as an artist, and the marriage resulted in three children. Kampmann already had three other children from his first marriage.
Spirituality and religiosity were a central theme in Kampmann's work. At the Great Berlin Art Exhibition of 1923, Kampmann's work Das Nothing was on display. In 1927 Kampmann designed its own cult space for the Berlin “Exhibition of Religious Art” . Together with Paul Klee , Max Beckmann , Wasili Kandinsky , Oskar Moll , Georg Muche and Lyonel Feininger , he founded the artist group Selection, which was banned in 1933.
National Socialism
As a member of the Novembergruppe artists' association , Kampmann lost his job at the textile and fashion school after the National Socialists came to power, followed by a work ban and further reprisals. In 1935 he was imprisoned in an "artist retraining camp", where he designed sculptures by Adolf Hitler and Dietrich Eckart , among others . Kampmann moved with Käthe and the children from Berlin to Rangsdorf and fled from public life to inner emigration , where he worked on his graphic and plastic work. In 1939 he was obliged to serve with the Henschel aircraft factory and in 1945 he was drafted into the air force.
After the Second World War
At the end of the war he was captured by the English in Hamburg. He died in 1945 completely exhausted of hunger and was buried in the Rangsdorf cemetery.
Exhibitions
In 1948 a memorial exhibition was dedicated to Kampmann and Gustav Klimt in the Albertina in Vienna . The young Friedensreich Hundertwasser was strongly influenced by the visit to this exhibition and by the works and techniques of Kampmann, especially Kampmann's "soul trees" became his inspiration. In some of his works, such as the print series Ein Regentag with Walter Kampmann or Guten Tag, Herr Kampmann , he makes direct reference to these influences.
estate
Works by Walter Kampmann can be seen today in the collections of the Museum Folkwang in Essen.
literature
- Exhibition catalog: Walter Kampmann . Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum, New Gallery of the City of Linz, 1949.
- Helga Kliemann: The November Group . German Society for Fine Arts, Mann, 1969.
- Exhibition catalog: Walter Kampmann Memorial Exhibition, 1887-1945. Oil paintings, watercolors, sculptures: 3.3.-26.4.1978 . Wedding Art Office, 1978.
- Erika Billeter, Erich Steingräber : German art of the 20s and 30s . Bruckmann, 1979 ( ISBN 3765417602 ).
- Bodo Niemann: Novembergruppe , editor: Bodo Niemann, 1993 ( ISBN 3-926298-21-9 ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Helga Kliemann: The November group . Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1969, pp. 50-51
- ↑ Thomas Münzer: Speech for the dead of Kat Kampmann , March 7, 1997 ( Memento of December 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), on the website of the Berlin Artists' Colony.
- ↑ Pictures of the memorial for Walter Kampmann
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kampmann, Walter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German expressionist painter, graphic artist and sculptor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th December 1887 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Elberfeld |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 12, 1945 |
| Place of death | Berlin |