Merz Collage
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Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist. He was born in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
, Germany, but lived in exile from 1937. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
ism,
constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
,
surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture,
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
,
typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...
, and what came to be known as
installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...
. He is most famous for his
collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
s, called " Merz Pictures".


Early influences and the beginnings of Merz, 1887–1922


Hanover

Kurt Schwitters was born on 20 June 1887 in Hanover, at Rumannstraße No.2, now No.8, the only child of Eduard Schwitters and his wife Henriette (née Beckemeyer). His father was (co-)proprietor of a ladies' clothes shop. The business was sold in 1898, and the family used the money to buy some properties in Hanover, which they rented out, allowing the family to live off the income for the rest of Schwitters' life in Germany. In 1893, the family moved to Waldstraße (later renamed to Waldhausenstraße), future site of the ''
Merzbau Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist. He was born in Hanover, Germany, but lived in exile from 1937. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dadaism, constructivism, s ...
''. In 1901, Schwitters suffered his first
epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...
, a condition that would exempt him from military service in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
until late in the war, when conscription was loosened. After studying art at the
Dresden Academy The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institution is the product ...
alongside
Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and Printmaking, printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Alon ...
and
George Grosz George Grosz (; ; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Obj ...
, (although Schwitters seems to have been unaware of their work, or indeed of contemporary
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
artists
Die Brücke Die Brücke (The Bridge), also known as Künstlergruppe Brücke or KG Brücke, was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905. The founding members were Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Karl Schmidt-R ...
), 1909–1915, Schwitters returned to Hanover and started his artistic career as a
Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...
. In 1911 he took part in his first exhibition, in Hanover. As the First World War progressed his work became darker, gradually developing a distinctive
expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
tone. Schwitters spent the last one-and-a-half years of the war working as a drafter in a factory just outside Hanover. He was conscripted into the 73rd Hanoverian Regiment in March 1917, but exempted on medical grounds in June of the same year. By his own account, his time as a draftsman influenced his later work, and inspired him to depict machines as metaphors of human activity.
"In the war t the machine factory at WülfenI discovered my love for the wheel and realized that machines are abstractions of the human spirit."
He married his cousin Helma Fischer on 5 October 1915. Their first son, Gerd, died within a week of birth, 9 September 1916; their second, Ernst, was born on 16 November 1918, and was to remain close to his father for the rest of his life, up to and including a shared exile in Britain together. In 1918, his art was to change dramatically as a direct consequence of Germany's economic, political, and military collapse at the end of the First World War.
"In the war, things were in terrible turmoil. What I had learned at the academy was of no use to me and the useful new ideas were still unready ... Everything had broken down and new things had to be made out of the fragments; and this is Merz. It was like a revolution within me, not as it was, but as it should have been."


Der Sturm

Schwitters was to come into contact with
Herwarth Walden Herwarth Walden (actual name Georg Lewin; 16 September 1879 – 31 October 1941) was a German expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines. He is broadly acknowledged as one of the most important discoverers and promoters of German av ...
after exhibiting expressionist paintings at the Hanover Secession in February 1918. He showed two ''Abstraktionen'' (semi-abstract expressionist landscapes) at Walden's gallery
Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...
, in Berlin, in June 1918. This resulted in meetings with members of the
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of G ...
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
, including
Raoul Hausmann Raoul Hausmann (July 12, 1886 – February 1, 1971) was an Austrian artist and writer. One of the key figures in Berlin Dada, his experimental photographic collages, sound poetry, and institutional critiques would have a profound influence on ...
,
Hannah Höch Hannah Höch (; 1 November 1889 – 31 May 1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar Republic, Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage. Photomontage, or fotomontage, is a type of collag ...
, and
Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...
in the autumn of 1918.
" rememberthe night he introduced himself in the Café des Westens. "I'm a painter," he said, "and I nail my pictures together." — Raoul Hausmann
Whilst Schwitters still created work in an expressionist style into 1919 (and would continue to paint realist pictures up to his death in 1948), his first abstract collages, influenced in particular by recent works by Jean Arp, would appear in late 1918, which Schwitters dubbed ''Merz'' after a fragment of found text from the phrase ''Commerz Und Privatbank'' (commerce and private bank) in his work ''Das Merzbild'', completed in the winter of 1918–19. By the end of 1919 he had become a well-known artist, after his first one-man exhibition at Der Sturm gallery, in June 1919, and the publication, that August, of the poem '' An Anna Blume'' (translated as 'To Anna Flower', or 'To Eve Blossom'), a dadaist, non-sensical love poem. As Schwitters's first overtures to Zurich and Berlin Dada made explicit mention of Merz pictures, there are no grounds for the widespread claim that he invented Merz because he was rejected by Berlin Dada.


Dada and Merz

Schwitters asked to join Berlin Dada either in late 1918 or early 1919, according to the memoirs of Raoul Hausmann. Hausmann claimed that
Richard Huelsenbeck Carl Wilhelm Richard Hülsenbeck (aka Charles R. Hulbeck) (23 April 189220 April 1974) was a German writer, poet, and psychoanalyst born in Frankenau, Hessen-Nassau who was associated with the formation of the Dada movement. Life and work Afte ...
rejected the application because of Schwitters's links to Der Sturm and to Expressionism in general, which were seen by the Dadaists as hopelessly romantic and obsessed with
aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...
. Ridiculed by Huelsenbeck as 'the
Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (; 5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic Landscape painting, landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation, whose often symbolic, and anti ...
of the Dadaist Revolution', he would reply with an absurdist short story, "Franz Mullers Drahtfrühling, Ersters Kapitel: Ursachen und Beginn der grossen glorreichen Revolution in Revon", published in the magazine ''
Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...
'' (xiii/11, 1922), which featured an innocent bystander who started a revolution "merely by being there". Hausmann's anecdote about Schwitters asking to join Berlin Dada is, however, somewhat dubious, for there is well-documented evidence that Schwitters and Huelsenbeck were on amicable terms at first. When they first met in 1919, Huelsenbeck was enthusiastic about Schwitters's work and promised his assistance, while Schwitters reciprocated by finding an outlet for Huelsenbeck's Dada publications. When Huelsenbeck visited him at the end of the year, Schwitters gave him a lithograph (which he kept all his life) and though their friendship was by now strained, Huelsenbeck wrote him a conciliatory note. "You know I am well-disposed towards you. I think too that certain disagreements we have both noticed in our respective opinions should not be an impediment to our attack on the common enemy, the bourgeoisie and philistinism." It was not until mid-1920 that the two men fell out, either because of the success of Schwitters's poem '' An Anna Blume'' (which Huelsenbeck considered unDadaistic) or because of quarrels about Schwitters's contribution to Dadaco, a projected Dada atlas edited by Huelsenbeck. It is unlikely that Schwitters ever considered joining Berlin Dada, however, for he was under contract to
Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...
, which offered far better long-term opportunities than Dada's quarrelsome and erratic venture. If Schwitters contacted Dadaists at this time, it was generally because he was searching for opportunities to exhibit his work. Though not a direct participant in Berlin Dada's activities, Schwitters employed Dadaist ideas in his work, used the word itself on the cover of '' An Anna Blume'', and would later give Dada recitals throughout Europe on the subject with
Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times. Personal life Theo van Do ...
,
Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...
, Jean Arp, and Raoul Hausmann. In many ways his work was more in tune with Zürich Dada's championing of
performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
and
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
than Berlin Dada's agit-prop approach, and indeed examples of his work were published in the last Zürich Dada publication, ''Der Zeltweg'', November 1919, alongside the work of Arp and
Sophie Taeuber Sophie Henriette Gertrud Taeuber-Arp (; 19 January 1889 – 13 January 1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Born in 1889 in Davos and raised in Trogen, Switzerla ...
. Whilst his work was far less political than key figures in Berlin Dada, such as
George Grosz George Grosz (; ; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Obj ...
and
John Heartfield John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld; 19 June 1891 – 26 April 1968) was a German visual artist who pioneered the use of art as a political weapon. Some of his most famous photomontages were anti-Nazi and anti-fascist statements. Heartfield a ...
, he would remain close friends with various members, including
Hannah Höch Hannah Höch (; 1 November 1889 – 31 May 1978) was a German Dada artist. She is best known for her work of the Weimar Republic, Weimar period, when she was one of the originators of photomontage. Photomontage, or fotomontage, is a type of collag ...
and Raoul Hausmann, for the rest of his career. In 1922
Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times. Personal life Theo van Do ...
organised a series of Dada performances in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Various members of Dada were invited to join, but declined. Eventually the programme comprised acts and performances by Theo van Doesburg, Nelly van Doesburg as Petrò Van Doesburg, Kurt Schwitters, and sometimes Vilmos Huszàr. The Dada performances took place in various cities, amongst which
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
,
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
, and
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
. Schwitters also performed on solo evenings, one of which took place on 13 April 1923 in
Drachten Drachten (, ) is a town in the northern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Smallingerland, Friesland. It had a population of around 56.098 in 2023 and is the Friesland#Urban areas, second largest town in the province of Friesland. ...
,
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
. Schwitters later on visited Drachten quite frequently, staying with a local painter, . Schwitters created several collages there, probably together with Thijs Rinsema. Their collages can sometimes hardly be distinguished from each other. From 1921 onwards there are signs of correspondence between Schwitters and an intarsia worker. From this co-operation several new works originated, where the collage technique was applied to woodwork, by incorporating several kinds of wood as a means to delineate images and letters. Thijs Rinsema also used this technique. Merz has been called 'Psychological
Collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
'. Most of the works attempt to make coherent aesthetic sense of the world around Schwitters, using fragments of found objects. These fragments often make witty allusions to current events. (''Merzpicture 29a, Picture with Turning Wheel'', 1920 for instance, combines a series of wheels that only turn clockwise, alluding to the general drift Rightwards across Germany after the
Spartacist Uprising The Spartacist uprising (German: ), also known as the January uprising () or, more rarely, Bloody Week, was an armed uprising that took place in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. It occurred in connection with the German Revolution of 1918 ...
in January that year, whilst ''Mai 191(9)'', alludes to the strikes organized by the Bavarian Workers' and Soldiers' Council.) Autobiographical elements also abound; test prints of graphic designs; bus tickets; ephemera given by friends. Later collages would feature proto-pop mass media images. (''En Morn'', 1947, for instance, has a print of a blonde young girl included, prefiguring the early work of
Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...
, whilst many works seem to have directly influenced
Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954 ...
, who said after seeing an exhibition of Schwitters's work at the
Sidney Janis Gallery Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sídney (footballer, born 1963) (Sídney José Tobias), Brazilian football forward * Sidney (footballer, bor ...
, 1959, that "I felt like he made it all just for me.") Whilst these works were usually collages incorporating found objects, such as bus tickets, old wire. and fragments of newsprint, Merz also included artists'
periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...
, sculptures, sound poems, and what would later be called " installations". Schwitters was to use the term Merz for the rest of the decade, but, as Isabel Schulz has noted, 'though the fundamental compositional principles of Merz remained the basis and centre of chwitters'screative work ..the term Merz disappears almost entirely from the titles of his work after 1931'.


Internationalism, 1922–1937


''Merz'' (periodical)

As the political climate in Germany became more liberal and stable, Schwitters's work became less influenced by
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
and Expressionism. He started to organize and participate in lecture tours with other members of the international avant-garde, such as Jean Arp, Raoul Hausmann and Tristan Tzara, touring Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, and Germany with provocative evening recitals and lectures. Schwitters published a periodical, also titled ''Merz'', between 1923 and 1932, in which each issue was devoted to a central theme. ''Merz 5'' 1923, for instance, was a portfolio of prints by Jean Arp, ''Merz 8/9'', 1924, was edited and typeset by
El Lissitzky El Lissitzky (, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky , ; – 30 December 1941), was a Soviet Jewish artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant-garde, h ...
, ''Merz 14/15'', 1925, was a typographical children's story entitled ''The Scarecrow'' by Schwitters, Kätte Steinitz and Theo van Doesburg. The last edition, ''Merz 24'', 1932, was a complete transcription of the final draft of the ''Ursonate'', with typography by Jan Tschichold. His work in this period became increasingly
Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
in spirit, with far less overtly political context and a cleaner style, in keeping with contemporary work by Jean Arp and
Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...
. His friendship around this time with El Lissitzky proved particularly influential, and ''Merz'' pictures in this period show the direct influence of
Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
. Thanks to Schwitters's lifelong patron and friend
Katherine Dreier Katherine Sophie Dreier (September 10, 1877 – March 29, 1952) was an American artist, lecturer, patron of the arts, and social reformer. Dreier developed an interest in art at a young age and was afforded the opportunity of studying art in the ...
, his work was exhibited regularly in the US from 1920 onwards. In the late 1920s he became a well-known typographer; his best-known work was the catalogue for the Dammerstocksiedlung in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
. After the demise of the Der Sturm gallery in 1924 he ran an advertising agency named Merzwerbe, which held the accounts for
Pelikan Pelikan Holding AG is a German manufacturing company of writing, office and art equipment. Credited with the invention of the differential-piston filling method, the original company was founded in Hanover in 1838 before it went bankrupt and r ...
inks and
Bahlsen Bahlsen GmbH & Co. KG is a German food company based in Hanover. It was founded in July 1889 by Hermann Bahlsen (1859–1919) as the "Hannoversche Cakesfabrik H. Bahlsen". Bahlsen makes products such as chocolate-dipped Pick Up! snack bars. B ...
biscuits, amongst others, and became the official typographer for Hanover town council between 1929 and 1934. Many of these designs, as well as test prints and proof sheets, were to crop up in contemporary Merz pictures. In a manner similar to the typographic experimentation by
Herbert Bayer Herbert Bayer (April 5, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He was instrumental in the development of the ...
at the
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
, and
Jan Tschichold Jan Tschichold (; born Johannes Tzschichhold; 2 April 1902 – 11 August 1974), also known as Iwan Tschichold or Ivan Tschichold, was a German calligrapher, typographer and book designer. He played a significant role in the development o ...
's ''Die neue Typographie'', Schwitters experimented with the creation of a new more phonetic alphabet in 1927. Some of his types were cast and used in his work. In the late 1920s Schwitters joined the
Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The ''Werkbund'' became an important element in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, parti ...
(German Work Federation).


''The Merzbau''

Alongside his collages, Schwitters also dramatically altered the interiors of a number of spaces throughout his life. The most famous was the ''Merzbau'', the transformation of six (or possibly more) rooms of the family house in Hanover, Waldhausenstrasse 5. This took place very gradually; work started in about 1923, the first room was finished in 1933, and Schwitters subsequently extended the Merzbau to other areas of the house until he fled to Norway in early 1937. Most of the house was let to tenants, so that the final extent of the Merzbau was less than is normally assumed. On the evidence of Schwitters's correspondence, by 1937 it had spread to two rooms of his parents' apartment on the ground floor, the adjoining balcony, the space below the balcony, one or two rooms of the attic and possibly part of the cellar. In 1943 it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid. Early photos show the ''Merzbau'' with a grotto-like surface and various columns and sculptures, possibly referring to similar pieces by Dadaists, including the ''Great Plasto-Dio-Dada-Drama'' by Johannes Baader, shown at the first International Dada Fair, Berlin, 1920. Works by Hannah Höch, Raoul Hausmann and
Sophie Taeuber Sophie Henriette Gertrud Taeuber-Arp (; 19 January 1889 – 13 January 1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Born in 1889 in Davos and raised in Trogen, Switzerla ...
, amongst others, were incorporated into the fabric of the installation. By 1933, it had been transformed into a sculptural environment, and three photos from this year show a series of angled surfaces aggressively protruding into a room painted largely in white, with a series of tableaux spread across the surfaces. In his essay 'Ich und meine Ziele' in Merz 21, Schwitters referred to the first column of his work as the ''Cathedral of Erotic Misery''. There is no evidence that he used this title after 1930. The first use of the word 'Merzbau' occurs in 1933. Photos of the ''Merzbau'' were reproduced in the journal of the Paris-based group abstraction-création in 1933-34, and were exhibited in MoMA in New York in late 1936. The
Sprengel Museum Sprengel Museum is a museum of modern art in Hanover, Lower Saxony, holding one of the most significant collections of modern art in Germany. It is located in a building situated adjacent to the Masch Lake () approximately south of the state m ...
in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
has a reconstruction of the first room of the ''Merzbau''. Schwitters later created a similar environment in the garden of his house in
Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Akershus County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today it is primarily known as ...
, near
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, known as the Haus am Bakken (the house on the slope). This was almost complete when Schwitters left
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
for the United Kingdom in 1940. It burnt down in 1951 and no photos survive. The last Merzbau, in
Elterwater Elterwater is a village in the English Lake District and the county of Cumbria. The village lies half a mile (800 m) north-west of the lake of Elter Water, from which it derives its name. Both are situated in the valley of Great Langdale. E ...
, Cumbria, England, remained incomplete on Schwitters's death in January 1948. A further environment that also served as a living space can still be seen on the island of near
Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
, Norway. It is sometimes described as a fourth Merzbau, although Schwitters himself only ever referred to three. The interior has now been removed and will eventually be exhibited in the
Romsdal Museum The Romsdal Museum () is a museum in the Romsdal district of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The museum is based in Molde Municipality, but it has sites all over the region. History The museum was founded by Peter Tønder Solemdal (1876-1963 ...
in Molde, Norway.


''Ursonate''

Schwitters composed and performed an early example of
sound poetry Sound poetry is an artistic form bridging literary and musical composition, in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded instead of more conventional semantic and syntactic values; "verse without words". By definition, sound poe ...
, ''Ursonate'' (1922–1932; a translation of the title is ''Original
Sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...
'' or ''Primeval Sonata''). The poem was influenced by Raoul Hausmann's poem "fmsbw" which Schwitters heard recited by Hausmann in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, 1921. Schwitters first performed the piece on 14 February 1925 at the home of Irmgard Kiepenheuer in
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
. He subsequently performed it regularly, both developing and extending it. He published his notations for the recital in the last Merz periodical in 1932, although he would continue to develop the piece for at least the next ten years.


Exile, 1937–1948


Norway

As the political situation in Germany under the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
continued to deteriorate throughout the 1930s, Schwitters's work began to be included in the ''Entartete Kunst'' (Degenerate Art) touring exhibition organised by the Nazi party from 1933. He lost his contract with Hanover City Council in 1934, and examples of his work in German museums were confiscated and publicly ridiculed in 1935. By the time his close friends Christof and Luise Spengemann and their son Walter were arrested by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
in August 1936 the situation had clearly become perilous. On 2 January 1937 Schwitters, wanted for an "interview" with the Gestapo, fled to Norway to join his son Ernst, who had already left Germany on 26 December 1936. His wife Helma decided to remain in Hanover, to manage their four properties. In the same year, his Merz pictures were included in the ''Entartete Kunst'' exhibition in Munich, making his return impossible. Helma visited Schwitters in Norway for a few months each year up to the outbreak of World War II. The joint celebrations for his mother Henriette's 80th birthday and his son Ernst's engagement, held in Oslo on 2 June 1939, would be the last time the two met. Schwitters started a second Merzbau while in exile in
Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Akershus County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today it is primarily known as ...
, near
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, in 1937, but abandoned it in 1940 when the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
invaded; this Merzbau was subsequently destroyed in a fire in 1951. His hut on the Norwegian island of Hjertøya, near
Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
, is also frequently regarded as a Merzbau. For decades this building was more or less left to rot, but measures have now been taken to preserve the interior.


The Isle of Man

Following Nazi Germany's invasion of Norway, Schwitters was amongst a number of German citizens who were interned by the Norwegian authorities at in
Kabelvåg , , or is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. Kabelvåg lies about to the southwest of the town of Svolvær, the administrat ...
on the
Lofoten Islands Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. There are two towns, ...
, Following his release, Schwitters fled to
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
with his son and daughter-in-law on the Norwegian patrol vessel between 8 and 18 June 1940. Officially an
enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...
, he was moved between various internment camps in Scotland and England before arriving on 17 July 1940 in Hutchinson Camp in the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
. The camp was situated in a collection of terraced houses around Hutchinson Square in
Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...
. The camp soon comprised some 1,205 internees by end of July 1940, almost all of whom were German or Austrian. The camp was soon known as "the artists' camp", comprising as it did many artists, writers, university professors and other intellectuals.The Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain, c. 1933–45
, Sarah MacDougall and Rachel Dickson,
Manx National Heritage Manx National Heritage () is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the Island’s physical heritage assets including over 3,000 acres of coastline and landscape. It holds pro ...
lecture delivered 10 April 2010
In this environment Schwitters was popular as a character, a
raconteur A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society. ...
and as an artist. He was soon provided studio space and took on students, many of whom would later become significant artists in their own right. He produced over 200 works during his internment, including more portraits than at any other time in his career, many of which he charged for. He contributed at least two portraits to the second art exhibition within the camp in November 1940, and in December he contributed (in English) to the camp newsletter, ''The Camp''. There was a shortage of art supplies there – at least during the early days of the camp's existence – which meant that the internees had to be resourceful to obtain the materials they needed: they would mix brick dust with sardine oil for paint, dig up clay for sculpture whilst out on walks, and rip up the
linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...
floors to make cuttings which they then pressed through the clothes mangle to make linocut prints. Schwitters's Merz extension of this included making sculptures in porridge:
"The room stank. A musty, sour, indescribable stink which came from three Dada sculptures which he had created from porridge, no plaster of Paris being available. The porridge had developed mildew and the statues were covered with greenish hair and bluish excrements of an unknown type of bacteria."
Fred Uhlman Fred Uhlman (19 January 1901 – 11 April 1985) was a German-English writer, painter and lawyer of Jewish origin. Biography Fred Uhlman was born in Stuttgart, Germany, into a prosperous middle-class Jewish family. He studied at the Universities ...
in his memoir.
Schwitters was well-liked in the camp, and was a welcome distraction from the internment they were suffering. Fellow internees would later recall fondly his curious habits of sleeping under his bed and barking like a dog, as well as his regular Dadaist readings and performances. However, the epileptic condition which had not surfaced since his childhood began to recur whilst in the camp. His son attributed this to Schwitters's depression at being interned, which he kept hidden from others in the camp.
For the outside world he always tried to put up a good show, but in the quietness of the room I shared with him .. his painful disillusion was clearly revealed to me. ..Kurt Schwitters worked with more concentration than ever during internment to stave off bitterness and hopelessness.
Schwitters applied as early as October 1940 for release (with the appeal written in English: "As artist, I can not be interned for a long time without danger for my art"), but he was refused even after his fellow internees began to be released.
"I am now the last artist here – all the others are free. But all things are equal. If I stay here, then I have plenty to occupy myself. If I am released, then I will enjoy freedom. If I manage to leave for the U.S., then I will be over there. You carry your own joy with you wherever you go." Letter to Helma Schwitters, April 1941.
Schwitters was finally released on 21 November 1941, with the help of an intervention from Alexander Dorner,
Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...
.


London

After obtaining his freedom Schwitters moved to London, hoping to make good on the contacts that he had built up over his period of internment. He first moved to an attic flat at 3 St Stephen's Crescent,
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
. It was here that he met his future companion, Edith Thomas:
“He knocked on her door to ask how the boiler worked, and that was that. ..She was 27 – half his age. He called her Wantee, because she was always offering tea." Gretel Hinrichsen quoted in ''The Telegraph''
In London he made contact with and mixed with a range of artists, including
Naum Gabo Naum Gabo (born Naum Neemia Pevsner; Russian language, Russian: Наум Борисович Певзнер; Hebrew language, Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר) (23 August 1977) was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's ...
,
László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by Constructivism (art), con ...
and
Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscapes, and still-life. He was one of the leading promoters of abstract art in England. Backg ...
. He exhibited in a number of galleries in the city but with little success; at his first solo exhibition at The Modern Art Gallery in December 1944, forty works were displayed, priced between 15 and 40
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
, but only one was bought. During his years in London, the shift in Schwitters's work continued towards an organic element that augmented the mass-produced ephemera of previous years with natural forms and muted colours. Pictures such as ''Small Merzpicture With Many Parts'' 1945–6, for example, used objects found on a beach, including pebbles and smooth shards of porcelain. In August 1942 he moved with his son to 39 Westmoreland Road,
Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...
, London. In October 1943 he learnt that his Merzbau in Hanover had been destroyed in Allied bombing. In April 1944 he suffered his first stroke, at the age of 56, which left him temporarily
paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...
on one side of his body. His wife Helma died of cancer on 29 October 1944, although Schwitters only heard of her death in December.


The Lake District

Schwitters first visited the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
on holiday with Edith Thomas in September 1942. He moved there permanently on 26 June 1945, to 2 Gale Crescent
Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...
. However, after another stroke in February of the following year and further illness, he and Edith moved to a more easily accessible house at 4 Millans Park. During his time in Ambleside Schwitters created a sequence of proto- pop art pictures, such as ''For Käte'', 1947, after the encouragement from his friend,
Käte Steinitz Kate Steinitz (2 August 1889 - 7 April 1975), informally known as “the Mama of Dada,” was a German-American artist, preserver and collector of Bauhaus and Dadaist art, promoter, and, librarian. From 1945 until her death, she served as the lib ...
. Having emigrated to the United States in 1936, Steinitz sent Schwitters letters describing life in the emerging consumer society, and wrapped the letters in pages of comics to give a flavour of the new world, which she encouraged Schwitters to 'Merz'. In March 1947, Schwitters decided to recreate the Merzbau and found a suitable location in a barn at Cylinders Farm,
Elterwater Elterwater is a village in the English Lake District and the county of Cumbria. The village lies half a mile (800 m) north-west of the lake of Elter Water, from which it derives its name. Both are situated in the valley of Great Langdale. E ...
, which was owned by Harry Pierce, whose portrait Schwitters had been commissioned to paint. Having been forced by a lack of other income to paint portraits and popularist landscape pictures suitable for sale to the local residents and tourists, Schwitters received notification shortly before his 60th birthday that he had been awarded a £1,000 fellowship to be transferred to him via the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in New York City in order to enable him to repair or re-create his previous Merz constructions in Germany or Norway. Instead he used it for the "Merzbarn" in Elterwater. Schwitters worked on the Merzbarn daily, travelling the five miles between his home and the barn, except for when illness kept him away. On 7 January 1948 he received the news that he had been granted British citizenship. The following day, on 8 January, Schwitters died from acute
pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...
and
myocarditis Myocarditis is inflammation of the cardiac muscle. Myocarditis can progress to inflammatory cardiomyopathy when there is associated ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction due to chronic inflammation. Symptoms can include shortness of bre ...
, in
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
Hospital. He was buried on 10 January at St Mary's Church, Ambleside. His grave was unmarked until 1966 when a stone was erected with the inscription ''Kurt Schwitters – Creator of Merz''. The stone remains as a memorial even though his body was disinterred and reburied in the in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
in 1970, the grave being marked with a marble copy of his 1929 sculpture ''Die Herbstzeitlose''.


Gallery of works

File:DAS GRAB DES ALVES BÄSENSTIEL .PNG, Schwitters, ''The Grave of Alves Bäsenstiel'', 1919, drawing (narrator's name in his poem '' An Anna Blume'') File:MERZZEICHNUNG 47 (MERZ DRAWING 47).PNG, Schwitters, '' Merz-drawing 47'', 1920, collage on board File:MERZZEICHNUNG 85 ZICKZACKROT (MERZDRAWING 85 ZIG-ZAG RED).PNG, Schwitters, '' Merz-drawing 85, Zig-Zag Red'', 1920, collage File:MERZ 458 WRIEDT.PNG, Schwitters, '' Merz 458 Wriedt'', 1922, collage File:Merz jan 1923 001.JPG, Schwitters ''Merz 1. - Holland
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
'', 1923, printed cover of his first Merz-publication File:Theo van Doesburg Dadamatinée.jpg, ''Poster for Dada Matinée'', Jan. 1923, printed poster, announcing Kurt Schwitters,
Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times. Personal life Theo van Do ...
& his wife
Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...
File:Kurt schwitters, composizione astratta, 1923-25 ca.jpg, Schwitters, ''Abstract Composition'', 1923–25, oil-painting File:OHNE TITEL (AGFA-FILMPACK) (UNTITLED (AGFA-FILMPACK)).PNG, Schwitters, ''untitled'' (Agfa-Filmpack), c. 1925, collage File:OHNE TITEL (HAMBURGER HOCHBAHN) .PNG, Schwitters, ''untitled'' (Hamburg elevated train), 1929, collage on paper on board File:MERZ 30, 42.PNG, Schwitters, '' Merz 30, 42'', 1930, collage File:OHNE TITEL (DAS SCHACHBILD).PNG, Schwitters, ''untitled'' (Chessman), 1941, collage, oil, paper and wood on plywood File:Kurt schwitters, difficile, 1942-43, collage.jpg, Schwitters, ''untitled'', early 1940s, collage File:Red Wire Sculpture by Kurt Schwitters, Tate Modern.JPG, Schwitters, ''Red wire sculpture'', 1944, stone and metal File:'Mother and Egg', mixed media sculpture by Kurt Schwitters.JPG, Schwitters, ''Mother and Egg'', 1945–47, mixed media sculpture File:Kurt Schwitters - Still life with wine bottle and fruit.jpg, Schwitters, ''Still life with wine bottle and fruit'', c. 1948, oil on canvas


Posthumous reputation


Merzbarn

One entire wall of the Merzbarn was removed to the
Hatton Gallery The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is based in the university's Fine Art Building and part of North East Museums. The Hatton Gallery closed in February 2016 for a £3.8 million redevel ...
in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
for safe keeping. The shell of the barn remains in Elterwater, near
Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...
. In 2011 the barn, but not the artwork inside it, was reconstructed in the front courtyard of the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
in London as part of its exhibition ''Modern British Sculpture''.


Influences

Many artists have cited Schwitters as a major influence, including
Ed Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the anti- pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. He is also noted for creating s ...
,
Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954 ...
,
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...
,
Al Hansen Alfred Earl "Al" Hansen (5 October 1927 – 20 June 1995) was an American artist. He was a member of Fluxus, a movement that originated on an artists' collective around George Maciunas. He was the father of Andy Warhol protégé Bibbe Ha ...
, Anne Ryan, and
Arman Arman (November 17, 1928 – October 22, 2005) was a French and American artist. Born Armand Fernandez in Nice, France, Arman was a painter who moved from using objects for the ink or paint traces they leave (''cachets'', ''allures d'objet'') t ...
.
"The language of Merz now finds common acceptance and today there is scarcely an artist working with materials other than paint who does not refer to Schwitters in some way. In his bold and wide-ranging experiments he can be seen as the grandfather of Pop Art, Happenings, Concept Art, Fluxus, multimedia art and post-modernism." Gwendolyn Webster


Art market

Schwitters's ''Ja-Was?-Bild'' (1920), an abstract work made of oil, paper, cardboard, fabric, wood and nails, was sold £13.9 million at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
London in 2014.


Marlborough Gallery controversy

Schwitters's son, Ernst, largely entrusted the artistic estate of his father to Gilbert Lloyd, director of the Marlborough Gallery. However, Ernst fell victim to a crippling stroke in 1995, moving control of the estate as a whole to Kurt's grandson, Bengt Schwitters. Controversy erupted when Bengt, who has said he has "no interest in art and his grandfather's works", terminated the standing agreement between the family and the Marlborough Gallery. The Marlborough Gallery filed suit against the Schwitters estate in 1996, after confirming Ernst Schwitters's desire to have Lloyd continue to administer the estate in his will. Professor Henrick Hanstein, an auctioneer and art expert, provided key testimony in the case, stating that Schwitters was virtually forgotten after his death in exile in England in 1948, and that the Marlborough Gallery had been vital in ensuring the artist's place in art history. The verdict, which was eventually upheld by Norway's highest court, awarded the gallery USD 2.6 million in damages.


Archival and forgeries

Schwitters's visual work has now been completely catalogued in the
Catalogue Raisonné A (or critical catalogue) is an annotated listing of the works of an artist or group of artists and can contain all works or a selection of works categorised by different parameters such as medium or period. A ''catalogue raisonné'' is normal ...
. The Kurt Schwitters Archive at the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Germany keeps a catalogue of
forgeries Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidden by law in some jurisdict ...
. A collage called "Bluebird" chosen for the cover of the catalogue for the Tate Gallery's 1985 Schwitters exhibition was withdrawn from the show after Ernst Schwitters told the gallery that it was a fake.


Legacy

*
Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
Schwitters's recording of ''Ursonate'' for the "Kurt's Rejoinder" track on his 1977 album, ''
Before and after Science ''Before and After Science'' is the fifth solo studio album by English musician Brian Eno, originally released by Polydor Records in December 1977 in the United Kingdom and by Island U.S. soon after. Produced by Eno and Rhett Davies, it is th ...
''. * Electronic music duo
Matmos Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo formed in San Francisco and based in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances no ...
used ''Ursonate'' in ''Schwitt/Urs'' on Quasi-Objects. *
DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...
included ''Anna Blume'' in a mix in his ''Sound Unbound'' project. * Japanese musician
Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita, best known for a style of harsh noise music. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings and collaborated with numerous artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada a ...
took his name from Schwitters. * A fictionalised account of Schwitters's encounter with a boy in London and their dispute over a bus ticket is the subject of '' Man and Boy: Dada'', an opera by
Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...
and
Michael Hastings Michael or Mike Hastings may refer to: *Michael Hastings (playwright) (1938–2011), British playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and poet *Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun Michael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun (born Mic ...
. * The German hip-hop band
Freundeskreis Freundeskreis (meaning "Circle of Friends") also known as FK, were a German hip hop group from Stuttgart. They performed songs in German language, German, English language, English, French language, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Her ...
quoted from his poem ''An Anna Blume'' in their hit single "ANNA". * The
krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
band
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
have a song entitled "Dr. Schwitters snippet". *
Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...
made a short film on Schwitters' life, titled ''The Man with Wheels'' (1980, directed by Eugean Doyan).Brown, Neal (2008). ''Billy Childish: A Short Study''. ondon The Aquarium. *
Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...
include extracts from ''Ursonate'' in their song "Ratatatay". The song references
George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973, he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...
's anecdote about spontaneously reciting ''Ursonate'', in order to scare off a pair of robbers. *
Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...
include samples of member N. U. Unruh reciting ''Ursonate'' in the song "Let's Do It A Dada" on the album '' Alles wieder offen''. * Contemporary artists Jutta Koether, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Kenneth Goldsmith, Eline McGeorge and Karl Holmqvist were commissioned to make new installation works in 2009 in response to Kurt Schwitters as part of the ''Senses'' exhibition which took place in
Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp ...
, Norway (2009) and at Chisenhale Gallery, London (2010). * Three members of the band
British Sea Power Sea Power, previously known as British Sea Power and initially as British Air Powers, are an English alternative rock band. The group's original lineup consisted of Jan Scott Wilkinson, known as Yan; Martin Noble, known as Noble; and Alison Co ...
were brought up near Schwitters's home in Cumbria. They have referenced his work in their songs and used a recording of ''Ursonate'' at their live shows. Jan Scott Wilkinson of the band contributed to
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
's Schwitters retrospective in 2013. *
Tonio K Tonio K. (born Steven M. Krikorian, July 4, 1950) is an American singer/songwriter who has released eight albums. His songs have been recorded by Al Green, Aaron Neville, Burt Bacharach, Bonnie Raitt, Chicago, Wynonna Judd and Vanessa Williams, ...
dedicated the track "Merzsuite – Let Us Join Together in a Tune, Umore, Futt Futt Futt" on his album ''Amerika'' to Kurt Schwitters. * American author
Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...
uses the name Anna Blume repeatedly in his works. For example, the main character in '' In the Country of Last Things'' is named Anna Blume. * Ed Ackerman and Colin Morton's 1986 stop-action animation ''
Primiti Too Taa ''Primiti Too Taa'' is a Canadian experimental animated short film, directed by Ed Ackerman and Colin Morton and released in 1987. Set to Morton reciting an excerpt from Kurt Schwitters's sound poem ''Ursonate'', the film illustrates the soundtrac ...
'' has a soundtrack of part of "Ursonate" and visuals are spellings of the sounds done by an unseen typewriter. * The multi-channel sound work ''Urbirds singing the Sonata'' by the artist Astrid Seme narrates what Kurt Schwitters might have heard when he wrote the ''Ursonate'' and its rhythmic score.


Notes


References

* Burns Gamard, Elizabeth. ''Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau: The Cathedral of Erotic Misery'', Princeton Architectural Press, 2000, * Cardinal, Roger, and Webster, Gwendolen. ''Kurt Schwitters'', Hatje Cantz, Stuttgart, 2011 (versions in English and in German) * Crossley, Barbara. ''The Triumph of Kurt Schwitters'', Armitt Trust Ambleside, 2005 * Elderfield, John. ''Kurt Schwitters'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1985 * Elsner, John, and Cardinal, Roger (eds.) ''The Cultures of Collecting'', Reaktion Books, London, 1994
Feaver, William. "Alien at Ambleside", ''The Sunday Times Magazine'', 18 August 1974, 27–34
* Fiske, Lars, and Kverneland, Steffen. ''Kanon'' (3 volumes) – a Norwegian comic biography * Germundson, Curt. "Montage and Totality: Kurt Schwitters' relationship to tradition and avant-garde", in Jones, Dafydd (ed.), ''Dada Culture: Critical Texts on the Avant-Garde'', Rodopi, Amsterdam/New York 2006, 156–186 * Hausmann, Raoul and Schwitters, Kurt; Reichardt, Jasia, ed. ''PIN'', Gaberbocchus Press (1962); Anabas-Verlag, Giessen (1986) * Luke, Megan R., ''Kurt Schwitters: Space, Image, Exile'', Chicago:
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...
, 2013, * McBride, Patrizia C. "The Game of Meaning: Collage, Montage, And Parody In Kurt Schwitters' Merz". ''Modernism/Modernity'' 14.2 (2007): 249–272 * McBride, Patrizia. "Montage And Violence In Weimar Culture: Kurt Schwitters' Reassembled Individuals". ''Contemplating Violence: Critical Studies in Modern German Culture''. 245–265. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rodopi, 2011 * Notz, Adrian and Obrist, Hans Ulrich (ed.)
'Processing the Complicated Order. The Merzbau Today'.
With contributions by Peter Bissegger, Stefano Boeri, Dietmar Elger, Yona Friedman, Thomas Hirschhorn, Karin Orchard, Gwendolen Webster. * Ramade, Bénédicte. (2005) ''Dada: L'exposition/The Exhibition'', Union-Distribution, * Rothenberg, Jerome, and Joris, Pierre (eds.) ''Kurt Schwitters, poems, performance, pieces, proses, play poetics'', Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1993 * Schwitters, Kurt (ed.) ''Merz 1923–32''. Hanover, 1923–1932 [numbered 1–24; nos. 10, 22–23 never published

. * Themerson, Stefan. ''Kurt Schwitters in England 1940–1948'', Gaberbocchus Press (1958) [includes poems and writings by Schwitters] * Themerson, Stefan. "Kurt Schwitters on a Time-Chart" in ''Typographica'' 16, December 1967, 29–48 * Fred Uhlman, Uhlman, Fred. ''The Making of an Englishman'', Gollancz (1960) * Webster, Gwendolen
'Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau'
doctoral dissertation, Open University, 2007 * Webster, Gwendolen. ''Kurt Merz Schwitters, a Biographical Study'', University of Wales Press, 1997, * Webster, Gwendolen
''Kurt Schwitters and Katherine Dreier''
in German Life and Letters 1999, vol. 52, no. 4, 443–456 * Exhibition catalogue, ''In the Beginning was Merz – From Kurt Schwitters to the Present Day'', Sprengel Museum Hanover, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern, 2000 * Exhibition catalogue, ''Kurt Schwitters in Exile: The late work, 1937–1948'', Marlborough Fine Art, 1981 * Exhibition catalogue, ''Kurt Schwitters'', Galerie Gmurzynska, 1978 * *


Further reading

* * * Review of both books:


External links


Gallery of his works, with information on each (German)


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20181010170419/http://www.kurtschwitterstoday.org/ Kurt Schwitters Society UK
Scans of Schwitters's publication ''Merz''

Works from the Guggenheim Collection





"Schwitters@Newcastle"
a project run by the German Studies Section at the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle University * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwitters, Kurt 1887 births 1948 deaths People from Hanover 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters Dada German modern artists Modernist theatre German graphic designers Sound poets German expatriates in Norway Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Refugees in Norway World War II civilian prisoners Prisoners and detainees of Norway People interned in the Isle of Man during World War II 20th-century German poets German male poets German collage artists German dadaists 20th-century German male writers