Charles Crodel
Encyclopedia
Charles Crodel was a German
painter
and stained glass
artist who also taught at Penn State University and the University of Louisville
.
Born in Marseille
, he studied arts at the University of Jena, while he became painter and lithographer. He was member of the executive board of the Jena art-union, the famous forum of the Bauhaus
, and became a close friend of Gerhard Marcks
. In 1923, the German National Gallery of Art at Berlin and later the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris bought first his woodcut
s and lithographies
. A mural in the University of Jena, another in the Weimar
Schlossmuseum and a third in Erfurt
remain of that time.
From 1927 on, Crodel taught printing and monumental painting at the "Burg Giebichenstein", the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Halle
until 1933 when he was dismissed, but he continued to teach in a private cricle at the house of Paul Frankl
. In these years, Crodels murals in Halle and the murals dedicated to Goethe in 1932 at Bad Lauchstädt
were destroyed in summer 1933 and in 1936. At this time many refugees brought Crodels paintings and prints, which now are found at Louisville, The North Carolina Museum of Art
, Raleigh, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
and the Luther College
, Decorah.
The following years Crodel found new fields of work. He designed glass decoration in Industry (together with Wilhelm Wagenfeld
), and he explored pottery decoration together with Hedwig Bollhagen, while Elisabeth Crodel completed embroidery
. He also began to paint stained-glass and to design mosaic
s.
In 1945, Crodel again taught at Halle, but also at Berlin and Dresden, and from 1951 at the Bavarian State Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From 1958 on Crodel also several times was invited to the Penn State and Louisville Universities
.http://special.library.louisville.edu/display-collection.asp?ID=27
Crodels stained-glass windows are found in Germany and in Sweden. Beautiful examples are found in the Frankfurt city churches,http://www.altfrankfurt.com/Kirchen/, Alsfeld
, Kaulsdorf (Berlin), Königs Wusterhausen
, Heinersdorf, St. Jacobi, Hamburg
, St. Mary's Church, Fuhlsbüttel, Hamburg
, St. Matthew's Church, Hamburg
, St. John's Church, Lüneburg
, Schmalkalden
.
Coming from a session of the Berlin Academy of Arts, Crodel died in 1973 in Munich
, at the age of 79.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
artist who also taught at Penn State University and the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
.
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, he studied arts at the University of Jena, while he became painter and lithographer. He was member of the executive board of the Jena art-union, the famous forum of the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
, and became a close friend of Gerhard Marcks
Gerhard Marcks
Gerhard Marcks was a German sculptor, who is also well-known for his drawings, woodcuts, lithographs and ceramics.-Background:...
. In 1923, the German National Gallery of Art at Berlin and later the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris bought first his woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s and lithographies
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
. A mural in the University of Jena, another in the Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
Schlossmuseum and a third in Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
remain of that time.
From 1927 on, Crodel taught printing and monumental painting at the "Burg Giebichenstein", the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
until 1933 when he was dismissed, but he continued to teach in a private cricle at the house of Paul Frankl
Paul Frankl
Paul Frankl was a German art historian.After starting with architecture, Frankl studied art history in Munich. He earned his Ph.D. in 1910 and became professor for art history in Halle in 1921. As a result of his Jewish origin he was put on leave in 1933 after the rise to power of Nazism...
. In these years, Crodels murals in Halle and the murals dedicated to Goethe in 1932 at Bad Lauchstädt
Bad Lauchstädt
' is a town in the district Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 13 km southwest of Halle. Pop. 4,933. It contains an Evangelical church, a theatre, a hydropathic establishment and several educational institutions, among which is an agricultural school affiliated to the university of Halle....
were destroyed in summer 1933 and in 1936. At this time many refugees brought Crodels paintings and prints, which now are found at Louisville, The North Carolina Museum of Art
North Carolina Museum of Art
The North Carolina Museum of Art is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina, featuring paintings and sculpture representing 5,000 years of artistic work from antiquity to the present. The museum features more than 40 galleries as well as more than a dozen works of art in its Museum Park...
, Raleigh, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Virginia Museum of Fine arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States, which opened in 1936.The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, while private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the support of specific programs and all...
and the Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
, Decorah.
The following years Crodel found new fields of work. He designed glass decoration in Industry (together with Wilhelm Wagenfeld
Wilhelm Wagenfeld
Wilhelm Wagenfeld was an important German industrial designer of the 20th Century, disciple of Bauhaus. He designed glass and metal works for the Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Gen., the Vereinigte Lausitzer Glaswerke in Weißwasser, Rosenthal, Braun GmbH and WMF...
), and he explored pottery decoration together with Hedwig Bollhagen, while Elisabeth Crodel completed embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
. He also began to paint stained-glass and to design mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s.
In 1945, Crodel again taught at Halle, but also at Berlin and Dresden, and from 1951 at the Bavarian State Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From 1958 on Crodel also several times was invited to the Penn State and Louisville Universities
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
.http://special.library.louisville.edu/display-collection.asp?ID=27
Crodels stained-glass windows are found in Germany and in Sweden. Beautiful examples are found in the Frankfurt city churches,http://www.altfrankfurt.com/Kirchen/, Alsfeld
Alsfeld
Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest...
, Kaulsdorf (Berlin), Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.-Geographical location:Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin...
, Heinersdorf, St. Jacobi, Hamburg
St. Jacobi, Hamburg
The St. Jacobi church is one of the five principal Lutheran churches of Hamburg, Germany. The church is located directly in the city center, has a 125 m tall tower and features a famous organ by Arp Schnitger from 1693. It is dedicated to St James the Greater and often incorrectly known in English...
, St. Mary's Church, Fuhlsbüttel, Hamburg
St. Mary's Church, Fuhlsbüttel, Hamburg
St. Mary's Church is a Lutheran church in the Fuhlsbüttel quarter of Hamburg. It was designed by local architects Bernhard Hopp and Rudolf Jäger....
, St. Matthew's Church, Hamburg
St. Matthew's Church, Hamburg
St. Matthew's Church in Winterhude, Hamburg, is a brick Lutheran church built from 1910 to 1912 in the baroque style.The church is adorned with the colorful windows of Charles Crodel, who also made the stained-glass windows for the main church of St. James's and for St. Mary's Church in...
, St. John's Church, Lüneburg
St. John's Church, Lüneburg
The Church of John the Baptist is the oldest Lutheran church in Lüneburg and located in the city center.-History:...
, Schmalkalden
Schmalkalden
- Notable people :*Christoph Cellarius, scholar, born 22 November 1638, died 4 June 1707 in Halle*Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach, colonel, born 16 April 1758, died 21 November 1827 at Białokosz...
.
Coming from a session of the Berlin Academy of Arts, Crodel died in 1973 in Munich
Munich
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...
, at the age of 79.
Exhibitions
University of Louisville: Allen R. Hite Art Institute: Paintings and Graphic Work by Charles Crodel, October 6–28, 1958. Introduction by Justus Bier and Senta Bier.Portraits
- Walter HasencleverWalter HasencleverWalter Hasenclever was a German Expressionist poet and playwright.-Biography:...
, lithography, 1920. - Theodor Daeubler, lithography, 1921.
- Wilhelm WorringerWilhelm WorringerWilhelm Worringer was a German art historian. He is known in connection with expressionism. Through his influence on T. E. Hulme his ideas had an effect on early British modernism, especially vorticism....
and Herbert Koch, woodcut, 1922. - Die Töpferin Marguerite FriedlaenderMarguerite WildenhainMarguerite Wildenhain , born Marguerite Friedlaender, was a French-born American ceramic artist, educator and author. In the second half of her life, having emigrated to the U.S...
, painting, Berliner Sezession, 64. Ausstellung: Künstler unter sich. Malerei. Plastik. April / März 1931.