Anton Räderscheidt
Encyclopedia
Anton Räderscheidt was a German painter who was a leading figure of the New Objectivity
.
Räderscheidt was born in Cologne
. His father was a schoolmaster who also wrote poetry. From 1910–1914, Räderscheidt studied at the Academy of Düsseldorf
. He was severely wounded in the First World War, during which he fought at Verdun
. After the war he returned to Cologne, where in 1919 he cofounded the artists' group Stupid
with other members of the local constructivist
and dada
scene. The group was short-lived, as Räderscheidt was by 1920 abandoning constructivism for a magic realist
style. In 1925, he participated in the Neue Sachlichkeit ("New Objectivity") exhibition at the Mannheim
Kunsthalle.
Many of the works Räderscheidt produced in the 1920s depict a stiffly posed, isolated couple that usually bear the features of Räderscheidt and his wife, the painter Martha Hegemann. The influence of metaphysical art
is apparent in the way the mannequin-like figures stand detached from their environment and from each other. His works from this era are rare, because most of them were either seized by the Nazis as degenerate art
and destroyed, or were destroyed in Allied bombing raids.
In 1934–1935 he lived in Berlin
. He fled to France in 1936, and settled in Paris
, where his work became more colorful, curvilinear and rhythmic. He was interned by the occupation authorities in 1940, but he escaped to Switzerland
. In 1949 he returned to Cologne and resumed his work, producing many paintings of horses shortly before adopting an abstract
style in 1957.
Räderscheidt was to return to the themes of his earlier work in some of his paintings of the 1960s. After suffering a stroke
in 1967, he had to relearn the act of painting. He produced a penetrating series of self portraits in gouache
in the final years of his life. Anton Räderscheidt died in Cologne in 1970.
New Objectivity
The New Objectivity is a term used to characterize the attitude of public life in Weimar Germany as well as the art, literature, music, and architecture created to adapt to it...
.
Räderscheidt was born in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. His father was a schoolmaster who also wrote poetry. From 1910–1914, Räderscheidt studied at the Academy of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. He was severely wounded in the First World War, during which he fought at Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
. After the war he returned to Cologne, where in 1919 he cofounded the artists' group Stupid
Stupid (art movement)
Stupid was a short-lived grouping of constructivist artists, formed in Cologne in 1919. The founding members were Willy Fick, Heinrich Hoerle and his wife Angelika Hoerle , Anton Räderscheidt and his wife Marta Hegemann, and Franz Wilhelm Seiwert....
with other members of the local constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
and dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
scene. The group was short-lived, as Räderscheidt was by 1920 abandoning constructivism for a magic realist
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
style. In 1925, he participated in the Neue Sachlichkeit ("New Objectivity") exhibition at the Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
Kunsthalle.
Many of the works Räderscheidt produced in the 1920s depict a stiffly posed, isolated couple that usually bear the features of Räderscheidt and his wife, the painter Martha Hegemann. The influence of metaphysical art
Metaphysical art
Metaphysical art , style of painting that flourished mainly between 1911 and 1920 in the works of the Italian artists Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà. The movement began with Chirico, whose dreamlike works with sharp contrasts of light and shadow often had a vaguely threatening, mysterious quality...
is apparent in the way the mannequin-like figures stand detached from their environment and from each other. His works from this era are rare, because most of them were either seized by the Nazis as degenerate art
Degenerate art
Degenerate art is the English translation of the German entartete Kunst, a term adopted by the Nazi regime in Germany to describe virtually all modern art. Such art was banned on the grounds that it was un-German or Jewish Bolshevist in nature, and those identified as degenerate artists were...
and destroyed, or were destroyed in Allied bombing raids.
In 1934–1935 he lived in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He fled to France in 1936, and settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where his work became more colorful, curvilinear and rhythmic. He was interned by the occupation authorities in 1940, but he escaped to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1949 he returned to Cologne and resumed his work, producing many paintings of horses shortly before adopting an abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
style in 1957.
Räderscheidt was to return to the themes of his earlier work in some of his paintings of the 1960s. After suffering a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1967, he had to relearn the act of painting. He produced a penetrating series of self portraits in gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
in the final years of his life. Anton Räderscheidt died in Cologne in 1970.
External links
- http://www.raederscheidt.com