Paul Cassirer
Encyclopedia
Paul Cassirer was a German art dealer
and editor who played a significant role in the promotion of the work of artists of the Berlin Secession
and of French Impressionists
and Post-Impressionists
, in particular that of Vincent van Gogh
and Paul Cézanne
.
, where he worked for the weekly magazine Simplicissimus
and published two novels.
Cassirer moved to Berlin
, and he and his cousin Bruno
, while still in their mid 20's, opened their gallery on the ground floor of Paul's house in the up-market Viktoriastrasse.. The cousins came from a prominent family, whose members included the neurologist Richard Cassirer
and the philosopher Ernst Cassirer
. Paul's father, Louis, was an engineer and businessman, whose company — Kabelwerke Dr. Cassirer & Co. — manufactured telegraphic cables, and was eventually taken over by Siemens
.
In 1895 he married Lucie Oberwarth.
In 1901 Cassirer visited Julien Leclercq
's retrospective of Van Gogh's work, and later that year he organized the inclusion of five Van Gogh canvases in the May show of the Berlin Secession.
On 21 May 1904, Cassirer and Lucie were divorced.
(18 August 1880, Vienna – 21 February 1971, Berlin), the actress well-known under her pseudonym Tilla Durieux
. Tilla had very briefly been married to the painter Eugen Spiro six years earlier. She and Cassirer were married for sixteen years, but the union was to end tragically.
In 1910 Cassirer also resurrected the periodical Pan
.
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
and editor who played a significant role in the promotion of the work of artists of the Berlin Secession
Berlin Secession
The Berlin Secession was an art association founded by Berlin artists in 1898 as an alternative to the conservative state-run Association of Berlin Artists. That year the official salon jury rejected a landscape by Walter Leistikow, who was a key figure amongst a group of young artists interested...
and of French Impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and Post-Impressionists
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
, in particular that of Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
and Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
.
Starting out
Paul Cassirer started out as a student of art history, and then became a writer in 1890s MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, where he worked for the weekly magazine Simplicissimus
Simplicissimus
Simplicissimus was a satirical German weekly magazine started by Albert Langen in April 1896 and published through 1967, with a hiatus from 1944-1954. It became a biweekly in 1964...
and published two novels.
Cassirer moved to 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...
, and he and his cousin Bruno
Bruno Cassirer
Bruno Cassirer was a publisher and gallery owner in Berlin who had a considerable influence on the cultural life of the city.He was born on 12 December 1872, the second child of Jewish parents, Julius and Julcher Cassirer. Julius was a partner, with two of Bruno's cousins, in a cable factory...
, while still in their mid 20's, opened their gallery on the ground floor of Paul's house in the up-market Viktoriastrasse.. The cousins came from a prominent family, whose members included the neurologist Richard Cassirer
Richard Cassirer
Richard Cassirer was a German neurologist who was born in Breslau. After receiving his medical doctorate in 1891 he became assistant at the psychiatric clinic in Breslau under Karl Wernicke . In 1893 he went to Vienna and continued his studies under Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Heinrich Obersteiner...
and the philosopher Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Cassirer was a German philosopher. He was one of the major figures in the development of philosophical idealism in the first half of the 20th century...
. Paul's father, Louis, was an engineer and businessman, whose company — Kabelwerke Dr. Cassirer & Co. — manufactured telegraphic cables, and was eventually taken over by Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
.
In 1895 he married Lucie Oberwarth.
In 1901 Cassirer visited Julien Leclercq
Julien Leclercq
Julien Leclercq was a French poet and art critic, devoted to Symbolism. Like his close friend Albert Aurier, he contributed regularly to the Mercure de France, for example in September 1890 an obituary of Vincent van Gogh...
's retrospective of Van Gogh's work, and later that year he organized the inclusion of five Van Gogh canvases in the May show of the Berlin Secession.
On 21 May 1904, Cassirer and Lucie were divorced.
Second Marriage
In 1910 he married Ottilie GodefroyTilla Durieux
Tilla Durieux was a renowned Austrian actress of the first decades of the 20th century.Born Ottilie Godefroy, she trained in Vienna, her native town and got her first engagement in Breslau...
(18 August 1880, Vienna – 21 February 1971, Berlin), the actress well-known under her pseudonym Tilla Durieux
Tilla Durieux
Tilla Durieux was a renowned Austrian actress of the first decades of the 20th century.Born Ottilie Godefroy, she trained in Vienna, her native town and got her first engagement in Breslau...
. Tilla had very briefly been married to the painter Eugen Spiro six years earlier. She and Cassirer were married for sixteen years, but the union was to end tragically.
In 1910 Cassirer also resurrected the periodical Pan
Pan (magazine)
Pan was an arts and literary magazine, published from 1895 to 1900 in Berlin by Julius Otto Bierbaum and Julius Meier-Graefe. The magazine was revived by Paul Cassirer in 1910, published by his Pan-Presse....
.
Death
On 7 January 1926, Cassirer met his wife in a lawyer's office to finalize the divorce proceedings. He excused himself and walked into another room, where he shot himself. Like that of Van Gogh, the artist he had done so much to promote, Cassirer's suicide was not immediately successful. He died from the injury a few hours later.Research resources
- Cassirer collection, 1906-1933 (0.5 linear ft.) is housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford University Libraries