Otto Pankok
Encyclopedia
Otto Pankok was a German painter
, printmaker
, and sculptor.
on the Ruhr. In 1912 he began his formal training as an artist at the Art Academies in Düsseldorf
and Weimar
. After only a few months he left the Weimar Academy, where his teachers were Fritz Mackensen
and Albin Egger-Lienz
, and went on a study trip to Holland with Werner Gilles. Afterwards, he spent two months in Paris, where he attended the Académie russe and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Between 1914-1917 he was a soldier in France in World War I.
Returning to Düsseldorf in 1919, he was a founder of the "Junge Rheinland" (Young Rhineland) group. With Otto Dix
, Gert Heinrich Wollheim
, and Adolf Uzarski
, among others, he was one of the painters championed by the art dealer Johanna Ey
. In 1921 he married the journalist Hulda Droste.
When Hitler
came to power in 1933, Pankok was declared a degenerate art
ist. Subsequently, 56 of his pictures were seized from museums, some of which were included in the infamous exhibition Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art
), mounted by the Nazis in Munich
in 1937.
Following the war (from 1947 to 1958) he was a professor at the Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf, where Günter Grass
was among his students. Except in the years of the Nazi regime, Pankok traveled extensively and painted on his journeys. He died in Wesel
.
s and monotypes. Pankok's pictures show humans, animals and landscapes, realistically and expressively, often depicting people at the edge of society. Pankok also created over 200 (mostly small scale) bronze sculptures. From 1924 to 1933 Pankok regularly contributed portrait drawings to the Düsseldorf
daily newspaper "Der Mittag".
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...
, printmaker
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
, and sculptor.
Biography
He was born in MülheimMülheim
Mülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
on the Ruhr. In 1912 he began his formal training as an artist at the Art Academies in 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...
and 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...
. After only a few months he left the Weimar Academy, where his teachers were Fritz Mackensen
Fritz Mackensen
Fritz Mackensen was a German painter of Art Nouveau. He was a friend of Otto Modersohn and Hans am Ende, and they were the founders of the artists' colony Worpswede. From 1933 to 1935 he was head of the Nordischen Kunsthochschule in Bremen...
and Albin Egger-Lienz
Albin Egger-Lienz
Albin Egger-Lienz was an Austrian painter.He was born in Dölsach-Stribach near Lienz, in what was the county of Tyrol...
, and went on a study trip to Holland with Werner Gilles. Afterwards, he spent two months in Paris, where he attended the Académie russe and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Between 1914-1917 he was a soldier in France in World War I.
Returning to Düsseldorf in 1919, he was a founder of the "Junge Rheinland" (Young Rhineland) group. With 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...
, Gert Heinrich Wollheim
Gert Heinrich Wollheim
Gert Heinrich Wollheim was a German painter associated with the New Objectivity, and later an expressionist who worked in America after 1947.-Life and work:...
, and Adolf Uzarski
Adolf Uzarski
Adolf Uzarski was a German writer, artist, and illustrator associated with the New Objectivity movement.He was born in Ruhrort bei Duisburg and studied at the Cologne School of Architecture before enrolling in 1906 at the Düsseldorf School of Arts and Crafts...
, among others, he was one of the painters championed by the art dealer Johanna Ey
Johanna Ey
Johanna Ey was an art dealer in Germany during the 1920s. She became known as Mutter Ey for the nurturing support she provided to her artists, who included Max Ernst and Otto Dix.-Biography:...
. In 1921 he married the journalist Hulda Droste.
When Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in 1933, Pankok was declared a 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...
ist. Subsequently, 56 of his pictures were seized from museums, some of which were included in the infamous exhibition Entartete Kunst (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...
), mounted by the Nazis 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...
in 1937.
Following the war (from 1947 to 1958) he was a professor at the Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf, where Günter Grass
Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
was among his students. Except in the years of the Nazi regime, Pankok traveled extensively and painted on his journeys. He died in Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
.
Work
Pankok's works are typically large monochrome paintings. He also created an extensive body of graphic work, notably woodcutWoodcut
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 monotypes. Pankok's pictures show humans, animals and landscapes, realistically and expressively, often depicting people at the edge of society. Pankok also created over 200 (mostly small scale) bronze sculptures. From 1924 to 1933 Pankok regularly contributed portrait drawings to 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...
daily newspaper "Der Mittag".