Rolf Nesch
Encyclopedia
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...
. Born in Germany
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...
, he moved to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
following the Nazi takeover in 1933.
Career
Nesch was born in Esslingen am NeckarEsslingen am Neckar
Esslingen am Neckar is a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, capital of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest city in the district....
, and studied at the academy in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
from 1912 to 1914. He then participated 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...
, but was taken prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
by the British. In 1929 he settled in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to continue his painting career, influenced by expressionism
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...
in general, especially Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a...
and Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
.
Upon the Nazi takeover in Germany in 1933, Nesch repatriated to Norway. Inspired by Norwegian scenery and working life, he discarded canvas and paintbrushes for good, and produced the following year his first so-called material picture, and also took up sculpture. Apart from drawing, which was his natural tool and means of expression throughout, it was printmaking
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...
he devoted himself to most continuously and over the greatest number of years. And it is as printmaker that Rolf Nesch made his most significant contribution, not merely as a technical innovator who discovered the potential in new materials and methods, but also from the artistic point of view.
Nesch was granted Norwegian citizenship in 1946. The National Gallery of Norway
National Gallery of Norway
The National Gallery of Norway is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.-History:...
owns eleven material pictures, three sculptures as well as other graphic by Rolf Nesch. He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and awarded the Swedish Prince Eugen Medal
Prince Eugen Medal
The Prince Eugen Medal , is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V in 1945, in connection with the eightieth birthday of his brother Prince Eugen who was a noted painter and art...
.
Nesch died in 1975 in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. The Nesch Museum opened in 1993 in Ål
Ål
Ål is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ål....
, where he had lived for twenty-five years, to commemorate his hundredth anniversary.
Further reading
- Helliesen, Sidsel and Sørensen, Bodil: The Complete Graphic Works, Milano/Oslo 2009
- Eivind Otto Hjelle, Rolf Nesch Oslo 1998.
- Eva Wiik, Min venn Rolf Nesch, Oslo 1994.
- Gustav Schiefler, Max Sauerlandt and Maike Bruhns, „St. Pauli“ und „Hamburger Brücken“, Hamburg 1989.
- Wolf Stubbe, Tiere anders gesehen. Tierzeichnungen von Rolf Nesch, Hamburg 1985.
- Max Sauerlandt, Gustav Schiefler and Wolf Stubbe et al., Rolf Nesch: Karl Muck og hans orkester, Oslo 1977. Hamburg 1978.
- Sidsel Helliesen and Eivind Otto Hjelle, Rolf Nesch på teaterturne til Finnmark, Oslo 1976.
- Jan Askeland and C.H. Hudtwalcker, Rolf Nesch – Lofoten, Oslo 1976.
- Alfred Hentzen and Wolf Stubbe, Rolf Nesch. Graphik, Berlin/Oslo 1973.
- Jan Askeland, Rolf Nesch - Alkymisten , Oslo 1969.
- Wolf Stubbe, Der Zyklus St.Pauli von Rolf Nesch, Jahrbuch der Hamburger Kunstsammlungen, 1965
- Alfred Hentzen, Rolf Nesch. Graphik, Materialbilder, Plastik Stuttgart 1960, New York 1964.
- Jan Askeland, Rolf Nesch, Oslo 1958.