Wilhelm Niedermayer
Wilhelm Niedermayer (born September 30, 1899 in Passau , † January 8, 1965 in Englburg ) was a German painter .
Life
The childhood and youth on the Englburg , the estate of his grandfather and uncle, had a lasting impact on his experiences. In many of his later works, but especially in his choice of residence, this landscape of the lower Bavarian forest was decisive. Initial attempts at painting have already been documented during this time.
Wilhelm Niedermayer attended secondary school in Passau from 1909 to 1916 and was then called up for military service. He then studied agriculture at the Technical University of Munich-Weihenstephan from 1918 and completed the exams in 1921.
At the same time he attended lectures on modern painting, especially the French impressionists, from Popp. After completing his studies, he entered the Moritz Heymann drawing and painting school in Munich . Here he was taught nude, portrait and landscape painting. He then continued his training with Joseph Herrmannsdörfer and Peter Trumm.
In order to be able to devote himself completely to painting, Wilhelm Niedermayer moved permanently to Munich. During these “bohemian years” he lived in the circle of Simplicissimus , the famous satirical magazine published by Albert-Langen-Verlag . The financial situation was precarious.
A first exhibition in the Munich Glass Palace made him known to a wider public in 1927.
Study trips to East Frisia , Worpswede , Bohemia , Italy and Dalmatia followed , but it was not until his study visit to Paris in 1926/1927 that the preoccupation with impressionism and expressionism became decisive for his work.
Since 1931, Wilhelm Niedermayer lived in Englburg in the so-called "Malerhäusl". In 1935 he married Marianne Krazer.
In the strictly realistic depiction of his motifs, elements critical of society and society could not be overlooked. That is why he was under political surveillance from 1936 at the latest during the National Socialist era . In addition, he was plagued by constant financial worries.
As a founding member of the Danube Forest Group , Wilhelm Niedermayer was one of the pioneers of the artistic scene in Eastern Bavaria after the Second World War, alongside Hermann Erbe-Vogel , August Philipp Henneberger , Reinhold Koeppel , Walter Mauder , Heinz Theuerjahr and Georg Philipp Wörlen . In 1957 he created the 15 Stations of the Cross in the Church of St. Florian Nammering , for which the Passau theology professor Alois Winklhofer wrote his own prayer texts.
In 1963, his work and services were honored with the East Bavaria Culture Prize.
Memberships
- 1926 until the dissolution in 1938 Munich Artists Association
- from 1946 Danube Forest Group
- from 1951 New Munich Artists' Cooperative
Artistic appreciation
The tension between Impressionism and Expressionism, which was established during the apprenticeship and traveling years, shaped the broad artistic oeuvre of Wilhelm Niedermayer throughout his life. Again and again he tried to build bridges between these styles. This can be traced well in his atmospheric landscapes and portraits with strong characters.
The broad line that gave direction to the work was the landscape and the characters of the front Bavarian forest . The rolling hills, the forests and the mountains of the Bavarian and Bohemian Forests that greet them in the distance have repeatedly been the subject of pictures by Wilhelm Niedermayer.
The result is art that is “Heimatkunst” (Klaus Schubert) in the best sense of the word and that lets the space of roots shine.
Selection of museums with works by Wilhelm Niedermayer
- Museum of the City of Regensburg
- Bavarian State Painting Collection (Branch Museum Oberhaus Passau)
- Municipal Gallery Munich
- Lower Austrian State Museum
literature
- Klaus Schubert: Wilhelm Niedermayer. A painter of the Bavarian Forest . With a cultural-historical study by Hans Bleibrunner. Publishing house F. Bruckmann, Munich 1961.
- Christian Niedermayer: Security in the forest home and longing for the distance . In: Passauer Almanach 2 , Südost, Passau 2005/06 (2005), pp. 95-103.
- Nammeringer Kreuzweg, pictures by Wilhelm Niedermayer; Prayer texts by Dr. Alois Winklhofer. Grafenau, Morsak 1958, 2nd edition 1982.
Web links
- Literature by and about Wilhelm Niedermayer in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography at galerie-wildner.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Niedermayer, Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1899 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Passau |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 8, 1965 |
| Place of death | Englburg |