Lyonel Feininger’s Nature Notes in and around Weimar...Feininger never ceased to impress upon his students at the Bauhaus that nature study at first hand was the most fundamental

GALERIE HENZE & KETTERER & TRIEBOLD RIEHEN/BASEL Dr. Alexandra Henze Triebold – Marc Triebold Wettsteinstrasse 4 - CH 4125 Riehen/Basel

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Lyonel Feininger’s Nature Notes in and around Weimar

A Prelude to the Bauhaus Centenary

Lyonel Feininger: Stadtkirche, Weimar I. Charcoal on hand-made paper, 1929, signed on the lower left.. 37,5 x 29 cm.

From June 27th to July 4th 2018 we will be participating in Masterpiece London. From July 22nd to August 6th 2018 our gallery will be closed for our gallery summer holidays.

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GALERIE HENZE & KETTERER & TRIEBOLD RIEHEN/BASEL Dr. Alexandra Henze Triebold – Marc Triebold Wettsteinstrasse 4 - CH 4125 Riehen/Basel

Tel. +41/61/641 77 77 - Fax: +41/61/641 77 78 www.henze-ketterer.ch – [email protected]

Lyonel Feininger’s Nature Notes in and around Weimar A Prelude to the Bauhaus Centenary 8th June until 29th September 2018

Almost a hundred years have gone by since the Bauhaus was founded in Weimar in 1919 which means that the coming year will be the Bauhaus’s first centenary year, during which a multitude of exhibitions, art projects, events and all kinds of activities will be taking place not only in the erstwhile locations of its relatively short lifetime – first Weimar, then Dessau and finally Berlin, where even new museum buildings are to be opened – but also in the whole of Germany and even farther afield. The idea behind these celebratory activities is to show where and how the Bauhaus has developed and influenced architecture, urban planning, product design, the visual arts, typography, photography, dance and a great many other creative fields, and all under the sign of the Gesamtkunstwerk. Thus the focus will not be just on the historical context of the Bauhaus but also on its influence on subsequent generations of artists. Consequently, the exhibitions will be showing more than just artefacts from the Bauhaus era. Visitors’ attention will also be drawn to new cultural centres and venues that have been developed and built in the spirit of the Bauhaus. The cycle of exhibitions will begin in Weimar in the spring of 2019 with an opening ceremony celebrating the founding of the Bauhaus. This exhibition in the new Bauhaus Museum in Weimar, which houses the oldest Bauhaus collection worldwide, will be devoted to the theme of the influence of the Bauhaus on modernism. In the summer of 2019 the Bauhaus Archive/Museum for Design in Berlin will be showing outstanding classics of Bauhaus design, some of them now world-famous, which illuminate the relationship between the unique and the edition, between the original and the copy. The exhibition mounted by the Bauhaus Foundation in Dessau, which will be opening at the new Bauhaus Museum in Dessau in the autumn of 2019, will be showing objects that today are an indispensable part and parcel of our lives and surroundings and reflect the influence of the Bauhaus legacy on the everyday culture of the present day. Our own exhibition on Lyonel Feininger’s “Nature Notes in and around Weimer” may be seen as a prelude to the centenary celebration of the founding of the Bauhaus, a school of art and design that has left its mark on all creative generations ever since. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius’s innovative idea behind the Bauhaus in Weimar – later in Dessau and then in Berlin – was to unite fine art and applied art by affording a new generation of skilled and dedicated artists and designers the opportunity to revolutionize everyday life and to create, through art and design, a new and better world. To this end Gropius placed master craftsmen in charge of the school’s workshops, in which students were able to practice experimentation and design, the distinction between theory and practice being waived almost entirely. The artists engaged by Gropius as teachers included such renowned personalities as Lyonel Feininger, Johannes Itten, Josef Albers, Paul Klee (from 1921), Wassily Kandinsky (from 1922) and Oskar Schlemmer (from 1921). Using educationally adapted, reoriented and experimental methods, the Bauhaus taught its students how to work with different materials, such as glass, wood, clay and metal, and gave them training in the performing arts and in typography, photography and commercial art, to name only a few of the creative crafts taught at the school. Practice and theory, experimentation and teaching were virtually inseparable entities. The many different workshops offered the students an enormous range of possibilities. Even today, art colleges all over the world employ Bauhaus-influenced teaching and training methods, beginning with

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an introductory course, in which great importance is attached to versatile, comprehensive training, and followed by participation in various workshop courses. Lyonel Feininger was appointed to the teaching and training staff by Walter Gropius in May 1919. From then until 1925 he was in charge of the printmaking workshop. His woodcut “Cathedral” graces the title page of the Bauhaus manifesto of 1919. The very first publication of the Weimar Bauhaus, in 1921, was a portfolio containing twelve woodcuts by Feininger. Later, in 1926, he moved with the Bauhaus to Dessau, where he remained – released at his own request from all teaching duties – until 1933. Born in New York in 1871, Lyonel Feininger was a late-comer to painting, having for many years been a caricaturist. From 1906, when Feininger first travelled to Weimar in order to visit his future second wife, he would often take a stroll in and around Weimar and make drawings and sketches of nature, which he called his “Nature Notes”. They were a kind of visual diary, which he kept in a file and later used for his paintings. The drawings and sketches are lovingly executed, abstracted renderings of urban Weimar and its surrounding countryside, impressions of what the artist saw captured on small sheets of paper. A longer period of stay in the region was taken between 1913 and 1914 and then again from 1919, when he was appointed to the Bauhaus teaching staff. Feininger was fascinated not only by the architecture of Weimar, with its magnificent churches, its towers, its streets with their historical buildings and bridges, but also by its surrounding open countryside that inspired him to make these small-format sketches with such matured dexterity. Feininger “captured” not only Weimar but also many of the surrounding, idyllically situated villages. Feininger’s “Nature Notes” may be seen as preliminary sketches on the spot, the initial capture of what he has seen, whether landscape or architecture, very often with human figures as well. He produced a multitude of drawings on paper – the sheets rarely exceeding a format of 20 cm – in pencil, charcoal, pen and ink or coloured chalk. They served him as a kind of treasure trove, as an archive on which he could draw again and again, even years later. Drawing exactly what he saw, capturing what took place in nature at first hand, was the beginning of an artistic process that culminated in a composition painted in oil or a woodcut pulled from a carved block of wood. Thus the drawings and sketches were Feininger’s artistic capital. While the first of these works are known to date from 1887, Feininger did not produce them continuously until sometime between 1906 and 1911. The development of Feininger’s style in the various phases of his oeuvre is mirrored in his “Nature Notes”. They were his source material for experimentation, which he used as a means of developing his innovative artistic and stylistic strategies. From their accompanying notes and correspondence we learn of Feininger’s passion and enthusiasm for the cycling tours he would make daily from Weimar in all directions to the outlying villages. Feininger would also make several drawings of his favourite motifs viewed from different perspectives, rapidly capturing them in their entirety with extreme economy of line and perspectival distortion and creating cubistically simplified architectural forms with only a suggestion of hatched shading. Feininger never ceased to impress upon his students at the Bauhaus that nature study at first hand was the most fundamental aspect of all artistic endeavour. Feininger first developed ideas of form on the spot, in front of his chosen subject, as small-format drawings on paper, which he would then use as the starting points for his oil paintings and prints. Thus it was that Feininger’s famous Thuringian motifs, realized over the course of many years, had their origins in the “Nature Notes” made in and around Weimar decades before. This exhibition would not have been possible without the kind support of “The Lyonel Feininger Project, New York”. Alexandra Henze Triebold

Lyonel Feininger Strandszene mit Badenden

Crayon and pencil on paper, 1911. 16 x 20,5 cm.

Dated «Mon. Sep. 11.11» on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80423

Lyonel Feininger Dorfstrasse

Pencil on paper, 1915. 20 x 16,2 cm.

Dated «18 IV 15» on the lower centre. Obj. Id: 80417

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Strasse in Dresden

Pencil, on satinated paper, 1910. 28 x 34 cm.

With the estate-stamp on the verso. Obj. Id: 66490

Lyonel Feininger Strasse, Weimar

Pencil on paper, 1914. 20,4 x 15,8 cm.

Dated on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80375

Lyonel Feininger Dorfstrasse, Niedergrunstedt

Crayon on paper, 1913. 16,2 x 20,2 cm.

Dated «1 VIII 13» on the upper left. Obj. Id: 80405



Dated «29 III 20» at the upper centre. Obj. Id: 80419

Lyonel Feininger Coudraystrasse, Weimar


Dated on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80373

Lyonel Feininger Dorfstrasse, Kromsdorf


Dated «23 V 13» on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80401



Dated on the lower right «11 VI 19». Obj. Id: 80418

Lyonel Feininger Häusergruppe mit zwei Personen

Watercolour and ink pen on paper, 1933. 24 x 31,2 cm.

Signed and dated «Feininger 1933» on the lower left. Obj. Id: 80421

Lyonel Feininger Gehender Mann; Vollersroda

Pencil on paper, circa 1914. 16,1 x 10,7 cm. Obj. Id: 80409

Lyonel Feininger Sternbrücke, Weimar Pencil on paper, 1920.

14,5 x 21,5 cm. Dated on the lower left «20 7 20».

Obj. Id: 80392

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Strassenbild Dresden

Woodcut on chamois hand-made paper, 1905. 15,9 x 12,7 to 21,7 x 17,3 cm.

Dube H 63. One of 5 known impressions of the print by the artist. Signed on the lower left and marked «Handdruck»

on the lower right. With the stamp of the artist «Unverkäuflich E. L. Kirchner» as well as with the

estate-stamp on the verso. Obj. Id: 66183



Dated «8 VI 14» on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80416


Wax crayon on paper, 1914. 20,3 x 15,9 cm.




Dated «7 V 13» on the lower right. Obj. Id: 80412


15,8 x 20,2 cm. Dated «SAT 6 VI 14»

on the lower left. Obj. Id: 80388


15,8 x 20,2 cm. Dated on the lower right «6 VI 14».

Obj. Id: 80390


15,8 x 20,2 cm. Dated «9 VI 14»

on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80391

Lyonel Feininger Auf der Brücke (On the bridge)

Oil on canvas, 1913. 61 x 63 cm.

Signed and dated «Feininger 13» on the lower left.

Loan from private collection.

Analog image:: Sternbrücke, Weimar

Actual condition

Lyonel Feininger Sternbrücke, Weimar

Pencil on paper, circa 1914. 15,8 x 20,2 cm. Obj. Id: 80387



Dated «19 IX 13» on the lower left. Obj. Id: 80386


Pencil and wax crayon on paper, 1914.

15,8 x 20,2 cm. Dated «6 VI 14» on the upper

right. Obj. Id: 80389

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner An der Berliner Strasse, Dresden

Woodcut on ribbed hand-made chamois paper, 1905.

12,7 x 17,6 to 18,5 x 22,5 cm. Dube H 67, one of the 4 known impressions of the print by the

artist. Signed on the lower left. With the estate-stamp on the verso.

Obj. Id: 66300

Lyonel Feininger Niedergrunstedt

Pencil and crayon on paper, 1913. 12,6 x 20 cm.

Dated on the lower left and marked «Niedergrunstedt 14 V 13».

Obj. Id: 80403

Lyonel Feininger Klein-Kromsdorf


Dated «30 IV 15» on the upper right. Marked by Julia Feininger

«Kl Kromsdorf erster Kompositionsversuch nach einer Skizze nicht vor der Natur» on

the verso. Obj. Id: 80402

Lyonel Feininger Oberweimar

Wax crayon on paper, 1911. 16 x 20,2 cm.

Dated and marked «OberWeimar tues 25 IV II» on the upper right.

Obj. Id: 80371

Lyonel Feininger Häuser

Pencil on squared paper, 1920. 16,5 x 20,5 cm.

Dated «Sonnab. d. 24. Apr. 1920» on the lower left. Obj. Id: 80420

Lyonel Feininger Taubach


Dated «15 V 13» on the upper right. Marked with «TAUBACH»

on the upper left. Obj. Id: 80406

Lyonel Feininger Häuser in Niedergrunstedt


Dated «28 IV 13». Obj. Id: 80404

Lyonel Feininger Lüneburg II Watercolour and ink pen on paper, 1922. 35,5 x 28,5 cm. Signed, dated and titled on the lower side. Loan from private collection

Lyonel Feininger Kirche in Eichelborn Pencil on paper, 1913.

20,2 x 16,2 cm. Dated «10 VII 13» on the upper right.

Obj. Id: 80393

Lyonel Feininger Eichelborn



Lyonel Feininger Vollersroda


Dated «8 V 14» on the upper right. Marked «Vollersroda»

on the lower left. Obj. Id: 80410

Lyonel Feininger Kirche von Vollersroda Pencil on paper, 1913.

20,5 x 24 cm. Dated «9 V 13» on the upper

right. Obj. Id: 80407

Lyonel Feininger Kirche von Vollersroda Pencil on paper, 1913.

16,2 x 20,2 cm. Dated «Fri 9 V 13» on the

lower right. Obj. Id: 80408

Lyonel Feininger Klein-Schwabhausen Pencil on paper, 1920.

20,2 x 15,8 cm. Dated «16 IX 13» on the upper right.

Obj. Id: 80400

Lyonel Feininger Dorfkirche



Lyonel Feininger Udestedt


Marked «Udestedt» on the upper centre. Obj. Id: 80411

Analog image: St. Kilian, Udestedt

Actual condition

Lyonel Feininger Marktplatz, Weimar


Dated «12 VI 19» on the lower right. Obj. Id: 80377

Lyonel Feininger Strasse in Weimar

Pencil on paper, 1906. 9,2 x 6 cm.

Dated on upper center. Obj. Id: 80370

Lyonel Feininger Dächer, Weimar


Dated «12 VI 19» on the lower right.

Obj. Id: 80378

Lyonel Feininger Oberweimar


Marked «Udestedt» on the upper right and dated «OberWeimar 14 V

13». Obj. Id: 80372

Lyonel Feininger Strasse, Weimar


Dated «28 IV 14» on the upper left.

Obj. Id: 80376

Lyonel Feininger Dächer, Weimar


Dated on the lower right «Sat 27 IX 13». Obj. Id: 80374

Lyonel Feininger Stadtkirche, Weimar I

Charcoal on hand-made paper, 1929. 31 x 25 on 37,5 x 29 cm. Signed on the lower left.

On the lower center titled «Stadtkirche Weimar I». Dated «5. 8. 29» on the lower right.

Obj. Id: 80422

Analog image: Stadtkirche, Weimar

Black and white photography Actual condition

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Sophienkirche Dresden

Pencil, partly smoothed, circa 1911. 34,3 x 27,4 cm.

On satin chamois paper. Signed in ink on the lower right.

Titled by the artist As well as with the estate-stamp on the verso.

Obj. Id: 67567

Analog image: Sophienkirche am Postplatz,

1910/1920 Destroyed

Lyonel Feininger Kirche in Gelmeroda

Wax crayon on paper, 1913. 20,1 x 15,9 cm. Obj. Id: 80398

Analgo image: Kirche in Gelmeroda

Actual condition.

Lyonel Feininger Gelmeroda



Lyonel Feininger Kirche in Gelmeroda mit Baum Pencil on squared paper, 1913.

16,2 x 20,2 cm. Dated «Thurs Jy 31 13» on the

upper right. Obj. Id: 80397

Lyonel Feininger Gaberndorf


Dated «3 V 13» on the lower right. Marked «Gaberndorf» on

the upper centre. Obj. Id: 80396

Analog image: Gaberndorf I

Oil on canvas, 1921, 80 x 100 cm.

Osthaus Museum, Hagen.

Lyonel Feininger Eichelborn Pencil on paper, 1914. 15,8 x 20,4 cm. Dated with «10 VI 14» on the upper right. Obj. Id: 80394

Lyonel Feininger Weg im Park, Weimar Pencil on paper, 1914.

15,8 x 20,4 cm. Dated «12 VI 14» on the upper left.

Obj. Id: 80385


15,8 x 20,2 cm. Dated «MON 14 IV 13» on the lower left.

Obj. Id: 80381


20,4 x 15,8 cm. Dated «12 VI 14» on the


Lyonel Feininger Im Park, Weimar


Dated «16 V 14 Sat» on the upper right.

Obj. Id: 80383

Lyonel Feininger Allee


Dated «6 VI 14» on the upper centre.

Obj. Id: 80415

Lyonel Feininger Baum im Park, Weimar Crayon on paper, 1913.

15,8 x 20,2 cm. Dated «27 IX 13» on the


Lyonel Feininger Baum im Park, Weimar

Pencil and crayon on paper, 1913. 15,8 x 20,2 cm.

Dated «27 IX 13» on the lower right. Obj. Id: 80380

Lyonel Feininger Weg mit Bäumen

Pencil and crayon on paper, 1913.

15,9 x 20,3 cm. Dated «22 IX 13» on the


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Documents

Lyonel Feininger’s Nature Notes in and around Weimar...Feininger never ceased to impress upon his students at the Bauhaus that nature study at first hand was the most fundamental