Hermann Glöckner
Encyclopedia
Hermann Glöckner was a German painter and sculptor. He was an important representative of constructivism
.
Glöckner was born in Dresden-Cotta
. He attended the vocational school in Leipzig
in 1903 and worked as a designer for textiles. From 1904 to 1911 he attended the evening classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule
Dresden
, where he became friends with Kurt Fiedler
. Among their lectures were Oskar Seyffert
and Carl Rade, who later was a renowned professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and remained a friend of Glöckner for many years. Glöckner was mainly interested in drawings, but also in projections and geometry. From 1914 to 1918 he served in infantry
divisions in France, Russia, and Poland.
After World War I
Glöckner earned some money with the copying of paintings for the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
. At the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts he studied with Otto Gussmann from 1923 to 1924. Hans Grundig
was among his fellow students. His experimental style, however, did not find everyone's appreciation and Glöckner left the academy again. As a freelancer he turned to constructivism ever deeper during the following years. In 1932 he became member of the re-founded Dresdner Sezession. The nazis refused him any opportunities to exhibit and sell his paintings and graphics. So he turned to sgrafitto to earn his living.
Glöckner lost his home during Bombing of Dresden in World War II
and moved to Loschwitz
. Because of his formalist style
, the officials of the GDR refused him the appreciation he deserved for a long time. His rehabilitation began with an exhibition of his graphical work in the Kupferstichkabinett
, Dresden in 1969. In 1979 he received a permanent visa for the Federal Republic of Germany
. Finally, in 1984, he was awarded with the National Prize of the GDR and the DEFA dedicated a film to him. Centrally in the area of the Technische Universität Dresden he was allowed to erect a sculpture, which had been banned just a few years before. Another sculpture was erected one year later in the park of the Hotel Bellevue, Dresden's first address that time.
In his later years Glöckner regularly visited West Berlin
, where his cohabitee lived and where he died in 1987. Glöckner's urn was entombed in Loschwitz. A street in Loschwitz, newly built in 2008, is named after him.
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...
.
Glöckner was born in Dresden-Cotta
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. He attended the vocational school in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1903 and worked as a designer for textiles. From 1904 to 1911 he attended the evening classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule
Kunstgewerbeschule
A Kunstgewerbeschule was the old name for an advanced school of applied arts in German-speaking countries. The first such schools were opened in Kassel in 1867 and Berlin and Munich in 1868 with other German towns following. They are now merged into universities....
Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, where he became friends with Kurt Fiedler
Friedrich Kurt Fiedler
Friedrich Kurt Fiedler was a German graphic designer and a representative of the Social Democratic Party. During the Weimar Republic he was acknowledged for his poster design, his book illustrations and his drawings...
. Among their lectures were Oskar Seyffert
Oskar Seyffert
Oskar Seyffert was a German art professor at the Königliche Kunstgewerbeschule in the Kingdom of Saxony...
and Carl Rade, who later was a renowned professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and remained a friend of Glöckner for many years. Glöckner was mainly interested in drawings, but also in projections and geometry. From 1914 to 1918 he served in infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
divisions in France, Russia, and Poland.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Glöckner earned some money with the copying of paintings for the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden features major works of art. It is located in the gallery wing of the Zwinger....
. At the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts he studied with Otto Gussmann from 1923 to 1924. Hans Grundig
Hans Grundig
Hans Grundig was a German painter and graphic artist associated with the New Objectivity movement.He was born in Dresden and, after an apprenticeship as an interior decorator, studied in 1920–1921 at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts. He then studied at the Dresden Academy from 1922–1923...
was among his fellow students. His experimental style, however, did not find everyone's appreciation and Glöckner left the academy again. As a freelancer he turned to constructivism ever deeper during the following years. In 1932 he became member of the re-founded Dresdner Sezession. The nazis refused him any opportunities to exhibit and sell his paintings and graphics. So he turned to sgrafitto to earn his living.
Glöckner lost his home during Bombing of Dresden in World War II
Bombing of Dresden in World War II
The Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 February 1945 in the Second World War...
and moved to Loschwitz
Loschwitz
Loschwitz is a borough of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters :Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes north of the Elbe river...
. Because of his formalist style
Formalism (art)
In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form--the way it is made, its purely visual aspects, and its medium. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content...
, the officials of the GDR refused him the appreciation he deserved for a long time. His rehabilitation began with an exhibition of his graphical work in the Kupferstichkabinett
Kupferstich-Kabinett (Dresden)
The Kupferstichkabinett is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany. Since 2004 it has been located in Dresden Castle.-History:...
, Dresden in 1969. In 1979 he received a permanent visa for the Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Finally, in 1984, he was awarded with the National Prize of the GDR and the DEFA dedicated a film to him. Centrally in the area of the Technische Universität Dresden he was allowed to erect a sculpture, which had been banned just a few years before. Another sculpture was erected one year later in the park of the Hotel Bellevue, Dresden's first address that time.
In his later years Glöckner regularly visited West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, where his cohabitee lived and where he died in 1987. Glöckner's urn was entombed in Loschwitz. A street in Loschwitz, newly built in 2008, is named after him.
Further reading
- Hermann Glöckner – Ein Patriarch der Moderne. Ed. by John Erpenbeck. Der Morgen. Berlin 1983
- Die großen Dresdner. 26 Annäherungen. Ed. by Karin Nitzschke. Insel Verlag. Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig 1999
- Günter Meissner: Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: die bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. K.G. Saur Verlag 1992. pp 198–201
External links
- Exhibition at the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa)
- Bibliography at the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
- Works at EuropeanaEuropeanaEuropeana.eu is an internet portal that acts as an interface to millions of books, paintings, films, museum objects and archival records that have been digitised throughout Europe...