Wilhelm Geyer

The 13 stained glass windows of the apse , St. Margareta in Margrethausen

Wilhelm Geyer (born June 24, 1900 in Stuttgart , † October 5, 1968 in Ulm ) was a German painter , graphic artist and glass painter . He devoted himself primarily to Christian topics.

Life

Wilhelm Adolf Geyer was born in Stuttgart as the son of the registrar Wilhelm Geyer and his wife Anna.

From 1919 to 1926 Wilhelm Geyer studied at the Stuttgart Art Academy . He was a master student of Christian Landenberger . In 1927 he moved to Ulm. In 1928 he married Klara Maria Seyfried (1904–1998). The two had six children, including Hermann Geyer .

In 1929 Geyer participated in the founding of the artist group Stuttgarter Neue Sezession and took over its chairmanship. In 1935 he designed his first glass windows for St. Dionysius in Magolsheim . 1940-1942 he was a soldier, and in 1943 he came because of its connection to the circle of the White Rose to Scholl in Gestapo custody . In his trial before Special Court 2 at the Munich Regional Court, he was acquitted on July 13, 1943 for lack of evidence.

Artistic importance

The Ulm painter is one of the most important representatives of the religious art of the 20th century . Wilhelm Geyer already found great recognition in the 1920s for his large altarpieces and graphics with religious themes. He was best known for his leaded glass windows , which he designed for almost 200 sacred buildings, including the Cologne Cathedral and the Ulm Minster .

Wilhelm Geyer, an important artist of expressive realism , turned to both biblical and Christian motifs from an early age. Until the end of World War II, drawings with a religious theme predominated. During the Nazi era , Geyer's works were declared “ degenerate art ” and removed from the museums in Stuttgart and Ulm. Geyer campaigned for the reopening of the Stuttgart Art Academy and was one of the initiators of the Beuron Art Days . In 1945 he campaigned for the establishment of the Oberschwaben Society and in 1947 co-founded the Oberschwäbische Secession (later called SOB).

After 1946 he was also involved in Ulm, where he worked as a lecturer at the Ulm Adult Education Center ( vh ulm ) founded by Inge Aicher-Scholl . After all, he was a member of the so-called Free Group in the Württemberg Art Association in Stuttgart.

Wilhelm Geyer was also active internationally: He was a member of the board of the German Society for Christian Art in Munich and of the Société internationale des Artistes Chrétiens . Geyer has received several awards for his commitment.

Wilhelm Geyer was a member of the German Association of Artists .

Honors

• 1954: Upper Swabian Art Prize
• 1957: Gold medal at the International Biennale for Christian Art
• 1960: Professor title of the government of Baden-Württemberg

Works (selection)

• 1929: Order for the murals in the Suso Church in Ulm ( destroyed in 1944 )
• 1934: Stations of the Cross sgraffitos for the Suso Church, Ulm ( destroyed in 1944 )
• 1935: Glass window for St. Dionysius in Magolsheim
• 1942: Glass window for St. Margaretha in Margrethausen
• 1947: Glass window for St. Cyriakus in Bettringen
• 1949: Stained glass window for St. Viktor's Cathedral in Xanten
• 1949: Glass window for the fortified church of St. Peter and Paul in Dietingen (Pentecost window )
• 1951–1952: Design of the glass windows in the choir of the parish church of St. Bernard in Heubach
• 1952–1967: Glass window for the Heilig-Kreuz-Münster in Schwäbisch Gmünd
• 1953: Way of the Cross for St. Michael to the Wengen in Ulm
• 1953 : Glass window for the Ulm Minster : bridal window
• 1953: Glass window for the linden chapel in Neuhausen auf den Fildern
• 1954: Glass window for the Liebfrauenkirche in Frankfurt am Main .
• 1954–1958: Stained glass windows and frescoes in the Herz Jesu Church in Stuttgart-Gaisburg
• 1955: Glass window for St. Aurelius in Hirsau
• 1956: Stained glass window in the Marienkapelle of Cologne Cathedral : Pius window (dedicated to the last four Pius Popes)
• 1956: Two rows of stained glass windows (6 each with depictions of apostles and evangelists) over the newly created church entrances to the Petruskirche (Neu-Ulm) , which were previously to be found in the main church
• 1957: Glass window for the parish church of St. Nikolaus in Veringenstadt
• 1959: Glass window for the Catholic Heilig-Geist-Kirche on the Kuhberg in Ulm
• 1959: Cycle of stained glass windows in the Catholic Church of Our Lady in Ravensburg , among other things on the subjects of baptism, marriage, penance
• 1959: Glass windows in the choir and anteroom of the Michaelskirche on the Michaelsberg near Cleebronn
• 1959: Glass window in the St. Blasius Chapel in Kohenbachtal in Waldkirch - Kollnau
• 1960: Glass window for the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in Munich-Giesing (installed in 1961, removed during renovation 2011-2015, replaced in 2019 by new windows by Christoph Brech )
• 1961: Glass windows for the Cathedral of Our Lady in Munich
• 1961: Glass window for St. Paul, Esslingen am Neckar
• 1961–1964: Stained glass window for Saint Johannes Evangelist (Tübingen)
• 1962: Stained glass window Catholic Church of St. Petrus and Paulus, Neuhausen on the Fildern
• 1962: Altar wall in the Catholic Church of the Annunciation in Böblingen made of colored bricks
• 1964: Stained glass in the Catholic parish church of St. Cyriakus in Schwäbisch Gmünd-Straßdorf
• 1965: Stained glass (scenes of salvation history) in the Catholic parish church of St. Jodok in Ravensburg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ kuenstlerbund.de: Full members of the German Association of Artists since it was founded in 1903 / Geyer, Wilhelm ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on August 4, 2015) 
2. ↑ Focus on the center . Homepage of swp.de; accessed on September 14, 2019.

literature

• Annette Jansen-Winkeln (ed.): Artist between times - Wilhelm Geyer (=  artist between times . Volume 5 ). Wissenschaftsverlag für Glasmalerei, Eitorf 2000, ISBN 3-932623-09-6 .
• Frank Raberg : Biographical Lexicon for Ulm and Neu-Ulm 1802-2009 . Süddeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft im Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Ostfildern 2010, ISBN 978-3-7995-8040-3 , p. 119 f .
• Stefan Borchardt (Ed.): Wilhelm Geyer. Landscapes Portraits Interiors . Catalog for the exhibition at the Hohenkarpfen Art Foundation from July 22 to November 11, 2012. Belser , Stuttgart 2012.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm Geyer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Wilhelm Geyer in the catalog of the German National Library
• Oberschwaben Portal - Biographies