Joseph Jean Ferdinand Kutter (1894–1941) is considered one of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

's most important painters. He was greatly influenced by the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

but developed his own 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 ...

style.

Early life

Kutter was born on 12 December 1894 in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...

where his father, Paul Kutter, was one of the city's early photographers. Hoping to become a painter, he first attended the ''Ecole d'Artisans'' in Luxembourg and then the schools of decorative art in Strasbourg and Munich. From 1917 to 1918, he studied at the Munich Academy where he was introduced to a style of painting inspired by

Wilhelm Leibl Wilhelm Maria Hubertus Leibl (October 23, 1844 – December 4, 1900) was a German realist painter of portraits and scenes of peasant life. Biography Leibl was born in Cologne, where his father was the director of the Cathedral choir. He was a ...

."Kutter et l'expressionisme européen", Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg, 7 juillet – 19 août 2007". .

Artistic career

From 1919, after being strongly influenced by Cézanne, he presented his paintings at the

Secessionist Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

exhibitions in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Although he returned to Luxembourg in 1924, he continued to exhibit in Munich until 1932 as a result of the negative criticism his nude paintings received in his home town. From 1925, he became increasingly interested in Flemish Expressionism which was flourishing in Belgium and France. Encouraged by André de Ridder, a Belgian art critic and strong supporter of Expressionism, Kutter participated in the 1926

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...

in Paris. The same year, he became a founding member of the avant-garde Luxembourg secession movement, exhibiting at its salon in 1927. He also continued to exhibit regularly at the ''Salon d'automne'' in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. His abilities were widely recognized in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, much less so in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1933, he ceased exhibiting in Germany after being considered a degenerate as Hitler gained power. In 1936, he was commissioned to paint two large works of "Luxembourg" and "Clervaux" for the French

International Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. While he was working on them, he began to suffer from a painful disease which the doctors were unable to diagnose. Later, during his better periods, he painted his clowns which reveal his suffering and anxiety. He died on 2 January 1941 in Luxembourg City.

Style

In Kutter's paintings, the subjects often stand in the foreground as if being photographed. His portraits, painted with strong brushstrokes, typically show figures with excessively large noses, always attracting attention. From 1918, Kutter's paintings increasingly began to present

motifs, especially in his landscapes and floral works where intense lines and colours became prominent. Although Kutter spent a number of years in Germany, his work was influenced above all by trends in France and Belgium. His centre of attention was the human figure. He often represented his subjects as sad, despairing clowns. The two large paintings (of Luxembourg City and Clervaux) he was commissioned to paint for Luxembourg's pavilion at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris are excellent examples of his maturing Expressionist style. In his painting of "Luxembourg" (above), his view of the city accentuates the stacked terracing of the houses, emphasizes the cubic appearance of the buildings, bestows a harsh appearance on the defensive walls and brings out the strength of the fortifications.

Selected works

*''The Champion'' (1932), National Museum of Art and History, Luxembourg, depicts the Luxembourg racing cyclist

Nicolas Frantz Nicolas Frantz (; 4 November 1899 – 8 November 1985) was a Luxembourgish bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career (1923 to 1934). He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon- Dunlop from 1924 to 1 ...

(1899–1985). *''The Wooden Horse'' (1937), National Museum of Art and History, Luxembourg."Joseph Kutter"
, ''Musée national d'histoire et d'art''. Retrieved 17 December 2010. *''Luxembourg'' (1936–37), National Museum of Art and History, Luxembourg."Galerie"
''Luxembourg.public.lu''. Retrieved 17 December 2010. *''Clervaux'' (1936–37), National Museum of Art and History, Luxembourg. File:Kutter Cheval de bois.jpg, Cheval de bois (1937) File:Kutter Clervaux.jpg, ''Clervaux'' (1937) File:Kutter self-portrait.jpg, Self portrait (c. 1936) File:Kutter Clown avec accordéon.jpg, ''Clown avec accordéon'' (1936) File:Kutter Le Champion.jpg, ''Le Champion'' (1932)

References

External links