Heinrich Maria Davringhausen
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Maria Davringhausen (October 21, 1894 – December 13, 1970) was a German
painter associated with the New Objectivity
.
Davringhausen was born in Aachen
. Mostly self-taught as a painter, he began as a sculptor, studying briefly at the Düsseldorf
Academy of Arts before participating in a group exhibition at Flechtheim's gallery in 1914. He also traveled to Ascona
with his friend the painter Carlo Mense
that year. At this early stage his paintings were influenced by the expressionists
, especially August Macke
.
Exempted from military service in World War I
, he lived in Berlin
from 1915 to 1918, forming friendships with George Grosz
and John Heartfield
. In 1919 he had a solo exhibition at Hans Goltz' Galerie Neue Kunst in Munich
, and exhibited in the first "Young Rhineland" exhibition in Düsseldorf. Davringhausen became a member of the "Novembergruppe" and gained some prominence among the artists representing a new tendency in German art of the postwar period. He was asked to take part in the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) exhibition in Mannheim
which brought together many leading "post-expressionist" artists, including Grosz, Otto Dix
, Max Beckmann
, Alexander Kanoldt
and Georg Schrimpf
.
Davringhausen went into exile with the fall of the Weimar republic
in 1933, first going to Majorca, then to France
. In Germany approximately 200 of his works were removed from public museum
s by the Nazis on the grounds that they were degenerate art
. Prohibited from exhibiting, Davringhausen was interned in Cagnes-sur-Mer
but fled to Côte D' Azur
. In 1945 however he returned to Cagnes-sur-Mer, a suburb of Nice
, where he remained for the rest of his life. He worked as an abstract painter under the name Henri Davring until his death in 1970.
Perhaps the best-known work from Davringhausen's New Objectivity period is Der Schieber (The Black-Marketeer), a Magic realist painting of 1920–21, which is in the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf im Ehrenhof. Painted in acidulous colors, it depicts a glowering businessman seated at a desk in a modern office suite that foreshortens dramatically behind him. Although Davringhausen rarely presented social criticism in his work, in Der Schieber "the artist created the classic pictorial symbol of the period of inflation that was commencing".
Much of Davringhausen's work was deposited in 1989 in the Leopold Hoesch museum in Düren
, which has subsequently organized several exhibitions of his pictures, above all those from the later period.
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 associated with the New Objectivity
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...
.
Davringhausen was born in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
. Mostly self-taught as a painter, he began as a sculptor, studying briefly at the 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...
Academy of Arts before participating in a group exhibition at Flechtheim's gallery in 1914. He also traveled to Ascona
Ascona
Ascona is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore.The town is a popular tourist destination, and holds a yearly jazz festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival....
with his friend the painter Carlo Mense
Carlo Mense
Carlo Mense was a German artist, associated at various times with Rhenish Expressionism and New Objectivity.Mense was born in Rheine. He studied with Peter Janssen at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1906 to 1908, and then with Lovis Corinth at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin in 1909...
that year. At this early stage his paintings were influenced by the expressionists
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, especially August Macke
August Macke
August Macke was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter . He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which...
.
Exempted from military service in 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...
, 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...
from 1915 to 1918, forming friendships with George Grosz
George Grosz
Georg Ehrenfried Groß was a German artist known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s...
and John Heartfield
John Heartfield
John Heartfield is the anglicized name of the German photomontage artist Helmut Herzfeld...
. In 1919 he had a solo exhibition at Hans Goltz' Galerie Neue Kunst 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...
, and exhibited in the first "Young Rhineland" exhibition in Düsseldorf. Davringhausen became a member of the "Novembergruppe" and gained some prominence among the artists representing a new tendency in German art of the postwar period. He was asked to take part in the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) exhibition in 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....
which brought together many leading "post-expressionist" artists, including Grosz, Otto Dix
Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit.-Early life and...
, Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
, Alexander Kanoldt
Alexander Kanoldt
Alexander Kanoldt was a German magic realist painter and one of the artists of the New Objectivity.Kanoldt was born in Karlsruhe. His father was the painter Edmond Kanoldt, a late practitioner of the Nazarene style...
and Georg Schrimpf
Georg Schrimpf
Georg Schrimpf , was a German painter and graphic artist. Along with Otto Dix, George Grosz and Christian Schad, Schrimpf is broadly acknowledged as a main representative of the art trend Neue Sachlichkeit , which developed in the 1920s as a counter-movement to Expressionism and Abstraction...
.
Davringhausen went into exile with the fall of the Weimar republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
in 1933, first going to Majorca, then to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In Germany approximately 200 of his works were removed from public museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s by the Nazis on the grounds that they were 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...
. Prohibited from exhibiting, Davringhausen was interned in Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:It is the largest suburb of the city of Nice and lies to the west-southwest of it, about from the center.-History:...
but fled to Côte D' Azur
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
. In 1945 however he returned to Cagnes-sur-Mer, a suburb of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, where he remained for the rest of his life. He worked as an abstract painter under the name Henri Davring until his death in 1970.
Perhaps the best-known work from Davringhausen's New Objectivity period is Der Schieber (The Black-Marketeer), a Magic realist painting of 1920–21, which is in the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf im Ehrenhof. Painted in acidulous colors, it depicts a glowering businessman seated at a desk in a modern office suite that foreshortens dramatically behind him. Although Davringhausen rarely presented social criticism in his work, in Der Schieber "the artist created the classic pictorial symbol of the period of inflation that was commencing".
Much of Davringhausen's work was deposited in 1989 in the Leopold Hoesch museum in Düren
Düren
Düren is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of Düren district. It is located between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.-Roman era:Celts inhabited Düren's area before the Romans. They called their small settlement Durum . After the Celts other Germanic tribes settled this area...
, which has subsequently organized several exhibitions of his pictures, above all those from the later period.
External links
- http://www.davringhausen.com