Willi Müller-Hufschmid

Willi Müller-Hufschmid , incorrectly also Müller-Hufschmied , (* 1890 in Karlsruhe ; † April 4, 1966 there ) was a German painter .

Live and act

Born in Karlsruhe, he studied at the art academy there from 1908. After surviving the First World War and six years of imprisonment in Siberia , he continued his studies with Hermann Goebel , who was in the tradition of Gustave Courbet . During this time he maintained contact with Rudolf Schlichter , Georg Scholz and other Karlsruhe painters from the Rih group . In 1922 he married Verena Hufschmid who provided for a living.

As a representative of the New Objectivity , he became known towards the end of the twenties and participated in numerous exhibitions with works that mostly showed objects of daily use. Another topic that preoccupied him at this time were self-portraits. Gradually there was a change to more mystical and metaphysical themes and a different style of painting with more pastose application of paint and less harsh contours than in the early days.

This phase of painting ended in 1933 with the Nazi rule. Müller-Hufschmid, whose artistic direction disliked the new rulers, was barely able to exhibit and from 1941 worked as a set designer in Constance , later as a gatekeeper at the Reichsbahn. His financial situation had become precarious, particularly due to the death of his wife in 1942. In addition, many of his earlier works were destroyed in a bomb attack in 1944.

In 1947 Müller-Hufschmid moved back to Karlsruhe. From 1950 to 1966 he lived in an apartment right next to that of the painter, draftsman and textile artist Clara Kress , whose drawings and paintings were clearly influenced by him. He turned down a professorship that was offered to him in Karlsruhe. While he had mainly created expressive drawings during the Third Reich, he now turned to abstract painting and found many followers. As a full member of the German Association of Artists , Willi Müller-Hufschmid took part in the major annual exhibitions of the DKB between 1951 and 1966.

Willi Müller-Hufschmid died in his hometown. His son Nikolaus Müller was head of the lithography workshop at the Karlsruhe Art Academy in the 1970s.

Awards

• 1953 Culture Prize of the City of Karlsruhe
• 1958 Culture Prize of Baden Artists
• 1959 Participation in the second Documenta in Kassel
• 1964 Hans Thoma Prize from the State of Baden-Württemberg.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ kuenstlerbund.de: Exhibitions since 1951 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was 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 November 19, 2015) 

Web links

• Literature by and about Willi Müller-Hufschmid in the catalog of the German National Library
• "Willi Müller-Hufschmid 1890-1966 - Paintings and Drawings" , exhibition at the Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, 2000
• Willi Müller-Hufschmid: "abstract composition"
• Materials by and about Willi Müller-Hufschmid in the documenta archive