Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Encyclopedia
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, formerly Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, is the Arts Academy of the city of Düsseldorf
. It is well known for having produced many famous artists, such as Joseph Beuys
, Gerhard Richter
, Sigmar Polke
, Thomas Demand
, and Andreas Gursky
. In the stairway of its Main-Entrance are engraved the Words: "Für unsere Studenten nur das Beste" ("For our Students only the Best").
Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture). During the Napoleonic Wars
, the earl's art collection was inherited by the Wittelsbach family and moved to Munich
, prompting the Prussian government—who had annexed the Düsseldorf region after Napoleon had surrendered—to change it into a Royal Arts Academy in Düsseldorf, in 1819.
In the 1850s, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf became internationally renowned, with many students coming from Scandinavia, Russia and the USA to learn, amongst other things, the genre and landscape painting associated with the "Düsseldorf school
".
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...
. It is well known for having produced many famous artists, such as Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
, Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist. Richter has simultaneously produced abstract and photorealistic painted works, as well as photographs and glass pieces, thus undermining the concept of the artist’s obligation to maintain a single cohesive style.- Biography :Gerhard Richter was born in...
, Sigmar Polke
Sigmar Polke
Sigmar Polke was a German painter and photographer.Polke experimented with a wide range of styles, subject matter and materials. In the 1970s, he concentrated on photography, returning to paint in the 1980s, when he produced abstract works created by chance through chemical reactions between paint...
, Thomas Demand
Thomas Demand
Thomas Demand, in full Thomas Cyrill Demand, is a German sculptor and photographer. He currently lives and works in Berlin and Los Angeles, and teaches at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg.-Education:...
, and Andreas Gursky
Andreas Gursky
Andreas Gursky is a German visual artist known for his enormous architecture and landscape color photographs, often employing a high point of view...
. In the stairway of its Main-Entrance are engraved the Words: "Für unsere Studenten nur das Beste" ("For our Students only the Best").
Early history
The school was founded by Lambert Krahe in 1762 as a school of drawing. In 1773, it became the "Kurfürstlich-Pfälzische Academie der Maler, Bildhauer- und Baukunst" (Elector of Palatine'sCharles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria reigned as Prince-Elector and Count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death...
Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture). During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the earl's art collection was inherited by the Wittelsbach family and moved to 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...
, prompting the Prussian government—who had annexed the Düsseldorf region after Napoleon had surrendered—to change it into a Royal Arts Academy in Düsseldorf, in 1819.
In the 1850s, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf became internationally renowned, with many students coming from Scandinavia, Russia and the USA to learn, amongst other things, the genre and landscape painting associated with the "Düsseldorf school
Düsseldorf School
The Düsseldorf school of painting refers to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy in the 1830s and 1840s, when the Academy was directed by the painter Wilhelm von Schadow...
".
Directors
- 1819–1824 Peter von CorneliusPeter von CorneliusPeter von Cornelius was a German painter.Cornelius was born in Düsseldorf.His father, who was inspector of the Düsseldorf gallery, died in 1799, and the young Cornelius was stimulated to extraordinary exertions...
- 1826–1859 Wilhelm von Schadow
- 1924–1933 Walter Kaesbach
- 1945–1946 Ewald MataréEwald MataréEwald Wilhelm Hubert Mataré was a German painter and sculptor, who dealt with, among other things, the figures of men and animals in a stylized form.-Career:...
- 1959–1965 Hans Schwippert
- 1972–1981 Norbert KrickeNorbert KrickeNorbert Kricke was a German sculptor.Born in Düsseldorf, Kricke was a student of Richard Scheibe and Hans Uhlmann at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin. He started creating abstract sculptures from 1947, using wires and other materials associated with industry, such as steel, glass and...
- 1988–2009 Markus LüpertzMarkus LüpertzMarkus Lüpertz is a contemporary German painter and sculptor.In the 1960s, Lüpertz worked primarily in Berlin, moving on to take a professorship at Karlsruhe at the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe in the 1970s, then to Düsseldorf where he was for over twenty years director of the Kunstakademie...
- Since 2009 Tony Cragg Tony CraggTony Cragg is a British visual artist specialized in sculpture. He is currently the director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.-Early life:Cragg was born in Liverpool in 1949...
Notable professors and students
- Tomma AbtsTomma AbtsTomma Abts is a German-born abstract painter who won the Turner Prize in 2006.-Early life:Abts was born in Kiel in Germany and currently lives and works in London, England.-Work:...
(2010–present Professor) - Andreas AchenbachAndreas AchenbachAndreas Achenbach was a German landscape painter.Born at Kassel, he began his art education in 1827 in Düsseldorf under Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow at the Düsseldorf Academy of Painting. He studied at St Petersburg and travelled in Italy, Holland and Scandinavia...
(1827–1834 Student) - Oswald AchenbachOswald AchenbachOswald Achenbach was a German landscape painter.Born in Düsseldorf, he received his art education from his brother, Andreas Achenbach. His landscapes generally dwell on the rich and glowing effects of color which drew him to the Bay of Naples and the neighborhood of Rome. He also painted in the...
(1835–1841 Student; 1863–1872 Professor) - Peter AngermannPeter AngermannPeter Angermann is a German painter based in Nuremberg.-Education and Career:He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg and at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and was a student of Joseph Beuys....
(1968–1973) - Karl AegerterKarl AegerterKarl Aegerter was a prolific Swiss painter, draftsman, etcher, muralist, illustrator, designer and sculptor. Now in numerous private and public collections, Aegerter’s works are often likened to those of Edvard Munch.-Childhood:...
(1888-1969) - Glenn Bautista http://www.glennbautista.com/http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Glenn_Bautista(1980–1985 Student, under professors Rolf Sackenheim, Maria Buras)
- Bernd Becher (1976–1996 Professor)
- Joseph BeuysJoseph BeuysJoseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
(1947–1952 Student, 1961–1972 Professor (kicked out), Visiting, 1980–85) - Anna and Bernhard BlumeAnna and Bernhard BlumeAnna and Bernhard Blume refers to the German art photographers Anna Blume and Bernhard Johannes Blume . They created sequences of large black-and-white photos of staged scenes in which they appeared themselves, with objects taking on a "life" of their own...
(1937–present/1937–1911 Students) - Arnold BöcklinArnold BöcklinArnold Böcklin was a Swiss symbolist painter.-Life and art:He was born at Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin , was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk trade. His mother, Ursula Lippe, was a native of the same city...
(1845–1847 Student) - Christoph BüchelChristoph BüchelChristoph Büchel is a Swiss artist.-Biography:Christoph Büchel was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1966. Büchel creates hyper-realistic environments that are, in essence, like walking into a mind at work...
(1992–1997 Student) - Maria Burashttp://www.clausenskunsthandel.dk/kunstner/buras/index.html(1980–1985 Professor)Født: 1949 i Warszawa, Polen - død 2004
- Michael ButheMichael ButheMichael Buthe was a German artist. From 1964 to 1967 he studied art at the Werkkunstschule Kassel. Thereafter he studied at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf as master student of Joseph Beuys. From 1985 to his death 1994 he worked as a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf...
(1944–1994 Professor) - Max Clarenbach (1894–1901 Student, 1917–1945 Professor)
- Tony CraggTony CraggTony Cragg is a British visual artist specialized in sculpture. He is currently the director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.-Early life:Cragg was born in Liverpool in 1949...
(1979–1988 Assistant Professor, 1988–2001 Professor, 2010 Director) - Siegfried Cremer (1977–1994 Professor of Drawing Technique)
- Udo DzierskUdo DzierskUdo Dziersk is a contemporary German painter.Since 2002 Udo Dziersk has been professor of the Orientierungs-Bereich at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, mentoring newcomers of the student body before they assume their direction by joining a class...
(1983–1988 Student, 2002–present Professor) - Peter DoigPeter DoigPeter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
(2005–present Professor) - Felix Droese (1970–1976 Student)
- Alfred Eckhardt (1947–1952 Student, 1961–1977 Professor of Drawing Technique)
- John Whetton EhningerJohn Whetton EhningerJohn Whetten Ehninger was a United States painter and etcher.-Biography:He graduated from Columbia University in 1847...
(c. 1848–49) - Student - Helmut FederleHelmut FederleHelmut Federle is a Swiss painter.- Life :Federle spent his childhood and youth in St. Margrethen close to St. Gallen in Switzerland. In the year 1959 he created his first small paintings with his initials HF as a motif....
(1999–2007 Professor) - Anselm FeuerbachAnselm FeuerbachAnselm Feuerbach was a German painter. He was the leading classicist painter of the German 19th-century school.-Biography:...
(1845–1848 Student) - Katharina FritschKatharina FritschKatharina Fritsch is a contemporary sculptor. She currently lives and works in Düsseldorf.-Life:...
(1977–1984 Student) - Rupprecht GeigerRupprecht GeigerRupprecht Geiger was an abstract painter and sculptor from Munich, Germany. He is perhaps best known for his color field paintings and for his passion for the color red.- Life and work :...
(1965–1976 Professor) - Eugen GomringerEugen GomringerEugen Gomringer is often called the father of concrete poetry. Gomringer lives in the region of Bamberg in Germany, he writes in German .-References:...
(1977–1990 Professor) - Günter GrassGünter GrassGünter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
(1948–1952 Student) - Gotthard GraubnerGotthard GraubnerGotthard Graubner is a German painter. He was born in Erlbach, in Saxony, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf, before becoming a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, in 1969...
(1954–1959 Student, 1976–1992 Professor) - Andreas GurskyAndreas GurskyAndreas Gursky is a German visual artist known for his enormous architecture and landscape color photographs, often employing a high point of view...
(1981–1987 Student, master-student of Bernd Becher from 1985) - Erwin Heerich (1958–1965 Student, 1969–1988 Professor)
- Shadrack Hlalele (Student, 1981–86 under professors Joseph Beuys, Rolf Sackenheim) http://www.pelmama.org/HLALELE.htmhttp://glenlorn.multiply.com/photos/album/71/Visual_Artist_-_Shadrack_Hlalele#
- Hans Schwippert (1959–1965 Professor and Director)
- Hans HolleinHans HolleinHans Hollein, is an Austrian architect and designer.Hollein achieved a diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1956, then attended the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1959 and the University of California, Berkeley in 1960...
(1967–1965 Professor) - Ottmar HörlOttmar HörlOttmar Hörl is a notable German artist, art professor and writer.From 1975 to 1978, he studied at the "Städelschule" in Frankfurt and from 1978 to 1981 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf...
(1979–1981 Student) - Candida HöferCandida HöferCandida Höfer is a Cologne, Germany-based photographer and a former student of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Like other Becher students – Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth – Höfer's work is known for technical perfection and a strictly Conceptual approach...
(1973–x Student) - Johannes HüppiJohannes HüppiJohannes Hüppi is a Swiss painter.The son of Alfonso Hüppi, Johannes Hüppi studied fine arts at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1984 to 1990, where he was a student of Fritz Schwegler and Dieter Krieg. From 1997 to 2000 he ran a studio in New York City and in 2000/2001 in Miami, Florida...
(1984 bis 1990 master-student of Dieter Krieg) - Axel Hütte (1973–1981 Student)
- Oliver Jordan (1980–1985 Student)
- Jörg ImmendorffJörg ImmendorffJörg Immendorff was one of the best known contemporary German painters; he was also a sculptor, stage designer and art professor.- Life and work :...
(1963–1969 Student, 1996–2007 Professor) - Anselm KieferAnselm KieferAnselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
(early 1970s, Student) - Karin Kneffel (1981–1987 master-student of Gerhard Richter)
- Paul KleePaul KleePaul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
(1931–1933 Professor) - Georg KlusemannGeorg KlusemannGeorg Klusemann, was a prolific artist and a children's book author.Although he died at only 38 years of age, Georg Klusemann left behind an extensive body of deeply original work....
(1964–1968 Student) - Imi KnoebelImi KnoebelImi Knoebel, born Klaus Wolf Knoebel , is a German artist. He is known primarily for his minimalist and abstract painting and sculpture. The "Messerschnitt" or "knife cuts," are a recurring technique he employs, along with his regular use of the primary colors, red, yellow and blue...
(1964–1971 Student) - Heinrich Christoph KolbeHeinrich Christoph KolbeHeinrich Christoph Kolbe was a German painter.-Life:Kolbe was born and died in Düsseldorf. After his education at the 'old' Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and then went to Paris for ten years to study. He was part of the circle of Friedrich Schlegel and worked on the review "Europa". He later worked in...
(dates unknown, Student; 1822–1832 Professor) - Attila KotányiAttila KotányiAttila Kotányi was a poet, philosopher, writer and architect-urbanist.In his early years in Budapest, Attila Kotányi belonged to the intellectual circle of philosopher Lajos Szabó and Béla Hamvas...
- Walter Köngeter (1952–1967 Professor of Constructive Arts)
- Dieter Krieg (1978–2002 Professor of Painting)
- Rolf Krummenauer (1953–1969 Teacher of Forming Arts)
- Rainer Maria LatzkeRainer Maria LatzkeRainer Maria Latzke is a German artist working in the field of trompe l'oeil and mural painting. He teaches at the Utah State University and is Founder of the Institute of Frescography in Logan, Utah. He also is Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art of Fudan University and...
(1972–1976 Student of G.Richter, 2008 Professor) - Rita McBride (Professor for sculpturing)
- Georg MeistermannGeorg MeistermannGeorg Meistermann was a German painter and draftsman who was also famous for his stained glass windows in the whole of Europe....
(1928–1933 Student, 1955–1966 Professor) - Orlando MohorovicOrlando MohorovicOrlando Mohorović is a Croatian artist.. He is one of the original members of a group of artists called Labinski atelieri.- Biography :...
(1970–1974 master-student of Joseph Beuys) - Harald NaegeliHarald NaegeliHarald Naegeli is a Swiss artist best known as the "Sprayer of Zurich" after the graffiti he sprayed in the late 1970s onto walls and buildings in Zürich, Switzerland.- The "Sprayer of Zürich" :...
(associate of Joseph Beuys) - Yoshitomo NaraYoshitomo Narais a Japanese artist. He currently lives and works in Tokyo, though his artwork has been exhibited worldwide. Nara received his B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music. Between 1988 and 1993, Nara studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, in Germany. Nara...
(1988–1993 Student) - Heinrich Nauen (1921–1937 Professor)
- Albert OehlenAlbert OehlenAlbert Oehlen is a contemporary German artist. He graduated from the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst, Hamburg, in 1978. Closely associated with the Cologne art scene, he was a member of the Lord Jim Lodge, along with Martin Kippenberger among others...
(seit 2000 Professor) - Markus OehlenMarkus OehlenMarkus Oehlen is a German artist. He studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf . His is formative participant of the German art movement Neue Wilde...
(1976–1982 Student) - Nam June PaikNam June PaikNam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
(1979–1996 Professor of Sculpture) - Blinky PalermoBlinky PalermoBlinky Palermo, was a German abstract painter.-Early life and education:Palermo was born Peter Schwarze in Leipzig, Germany, in 1943, and adopted as an infant, with his twin brother, Michael, by foster parents named Heisterkamp, became Peter Heisterkamp, and moved to Münster in 1952...
(1962–1967 Student) - Arne PausArne PausArne Paus is a Norwegian visual artist and one of the best known Norwegian figurative painters.He studied from 1964 until 1966 at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Joseph Beuys and currently lives in Oslo in Norway....
(1964–1965 Student) - Alois PlumAlois PlumAlois Johannes Plum is an artist working in Mainz, Germany, who has acquired a national reputation for his stained glass, his paintings , and his plastic art. Active since the 1950s, his work decorates hundreds of churches and public buildings in Germany...
(1955–1957 Student) - Sigmar PolkeSigmar PolkeSigmar Polke was a German painter and photographer.Polke experimented with a wide range of styles, subject matter and materials. In the 1970s, he concentrated on photography, returning to paint in the 1980s, when he produced abstract works created by chance through chemical reactions between paint...
(1961–1967 Student) - Willy ReetzWilly ReetzWilly Reetz was a German painter. Occasionally he is referred to as Wilhelm Reetz, although he signed all his work as 'Willy Reetz'.-Education:...
(1920–1924 Student) - Lois Renner (1985–1988 Student)
- Gerhard RichterGerhard RichterGerhard Richter is a German visual artist. Richter has simultaneously produced abstract and photorealistic painted works, as well as photographs and glass pieces, thus undermining the concept of the artist’s obligation to maintain a single cohesive style.- Biography :Gerhard Richter was born in...
(1961–1963 Student, 1971–1993 Professor) - Teod Richter (1964–1968 Student)
- Klaus Rinke (1974–2004 Professor)
- Reiner Ruthenbeck (1962–1968 Student)
- Thomas RuffThomas RuffThomas Ruff is an internationally renowned German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf.-Life:...
(Student, Professor) - Rolf Sackenheim (1963–1985 Professor)
- Kaspar Scheuren (1829–1835 Student)
- Felix SchrammFelix SchrammFelix Schramm is a contemporary artist based in Düsseldorf, Germany. He was a student of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze. His sculptural works explore architectural destruction and reorganization in pre-existing spaces through the introduction of irregular structures...
- Axel Schultes
- Rudolf SchwarzRudolf Schwarz (architect)Rudolf Schwarz was a German architect known for his work on Kirche St. Fronleichnam, Aachen. He also played a decisive role in the reconstruction of Cologne after the Second World War. After conducting Cologne's reconstruction authority between 1947 and 1952 he contributed to the rebuilding of the...
(1953–1961 Professor) - HA SchultHA SchultHA Schult, born Hans-Jürgen Schult on June 24, 1939 in Parchim, Mecklenburg is a German installation, happening and conceptual artist known primarily for his object and performance art and more specifically his work with garbage.- Life :...
(1958–1961 Student) - Thomas SchütteThomas SchütteThomas Schütte is a German contemporary artist. From 1973 to 1981 he studied art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alongside Katharina Fritsch under Gerhard Richter and Fritz Schwegler. He lives and works in Düsseldorf.-Work:In the early 1980s Schütte began a series of small sculptural works...
(1973–1981 Student) - Fritz SchweglerFritz SchweglerFritz Schwegler is a German painter, graphic artist, sculptor and musician.Born in the Swabian town of Breech near Göppingen, Schwegler was first apprenticed as a joiner to his father. He then traveled through the whole of Europe for three years, where he visited 21 cities...
(1973–2001 Assistant Professor and Professor) - Adolf SeelAdolf SeelAdolf Seel was a German painter. He enjoyed training at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts.- Biography :Seel visited the academy in Düsseldorf in 1844-50, where he trained under Wilhelm Sohn...
(1844–1850 Student) - Dirk SkreberDirk SkreberDirk Skreber, b. Lübeck, Germany contemporary artist who lives and works in New York.He studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Dirk Skreber is one of the leading contemporary German artists...
(1982–1988 Student) - Werner SpiesWerner SpiesWerner Spies is a German art historian, journalist and organizer of exhibitions. From 1997 to 2000, he was also a director of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.-Life and work:...
(1975–2002 Professor of the history of arts) - Thomas StruthThomas StruthThomas Struth is a German photographer whose wide-ranging work includes depictions of detailed cityscapes, Asian jungles and family portraits. He is one of Germany's most widely exhibited and collected fine art photographers...
(1973–1978 Student) - Norbert Tadeusz (1961–1966 Student)
- Rosemarie TrockelRosemarie TrockelRosemarie Trockel is a German Artist, and an important figure in the international contemporary art movement.- Life :...
(Professor) - Günther UeckerGünther UeckerGünther Uecker, also known as Guenther Uecker, is a German sculptor, op artist and installation artist.- Biography :...
(1953–1957 Student, 1976–1995 Professor) - Oswald Mathias UngersOswald Mathias UngersOswald Mathias Ungers was a German architect and architectural theorist, known for his rationalist designs and the use of cubic forms. Among his notable projects are museums in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne....
- Georg Wilhelm Volkhart (1831–1840 Student)
- Max Volkhart (1848–1924 Student)
- Karl Ferdinand WimarKarl Ferdinand WimarKarl Ferdinand Wimar , was a painter of Western Native Americans and buffaloes....
(c. 1851 Student)