Paul Hoecker (11 August 1854, Oberlangenau – 13 January 1910,

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 ...

) was a German painter of the

Munich School Munich School ( el, Σχολή του Μονάχου) is the name given to a group of painters who worked in Munich or were trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich (german: Münchner Akademie der Bildenden Künste) between 1850 and 191 ...

and founding member of the

Munich Secession The Munich Secession was an association of visual artists who broke away from the mainstream Munich Artists' Association in 1892, to promote and defend their art in the face of what they considered official paternalism and its conservative polic ...

Biography

His passion for art developed gradually, beginning at the Gymnasium in Neustadt, where he was known for his humorous drawings and caricatures of his instructors. In 1874, he became a student at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, which he attended until the spring of 1879. His most influential instructor was

Wilhelm von Diez Albrecht Christoph Wilhelm von Diez (17 January 1839, Bayreuth – 25 February 1907, Munich) was a German painter and illustrator of the Munich School. Life He attended a trade school in Munich, followed by the Polytechnic School (precursor of ...

, who led him away from genre painting to a more impressionistic style Paul Hoecker-Nino-1904-Jugend

In 1882, he took a long journey, which included visits to Paris, the Netherlands,

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, the German seaports and then back to Munich, where he became friends with Fritz von Uhde, Bruno Piglhein and

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

. The next year, he had a display at the Munich International Art Exhibition,Fritz von Ostini: ''Paul Hoecker und seine Schule''. Velhagen & Klasings Monatshefte, Heft 6, Februar 1913. then travelled again to Paris and the Netherlands. From 1884 to 1888, he lived in Berlin, but returned to Munich and began painting in naturalistic colors with strong lighting effects.

The Munich Academy

In 1891, at the young age of 36, he was appointed to the Munich Academy, where he replaced

Friedrich August von Kaulbach Friedrich August von Kaulbach (2 June 1850 in Munich – 26 July 1920 in Ohlstadt, Germany) was a German portraitist and historical painter. Biography He was born to a family that included several well known artists and began his studies wit ...

, who had resigned suddenly. He was the first teacher at the academy to take his students on field trips, which often lasted two weeks. He was also one of the first "modern" teachers there, exposing his students to

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and the latest developments from the

Barbizon School The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

. His studio was often referred to as the "Geniekasten" (Genius Box). Due to the pervasive influence of

Franz von Lenbach Franz Seraph Lenbach, after 1882, Ritter von Lenbach (13 December 1836 – 6 May 1904), was a German painter known primarily for his portraits of prominent personalities from the nobility, the arts, and industry. Because of his standing in society ...

, very little exhibition space was available for any art that was considered modern. In 1892, shortly after being appointed a professor, this problem motivated Hoecker to become one of the founding members of the Munich Secession, acting as its secretary. The Secession ultimately inspired similar movements in Berlin and other cities.

Scandal

In 1897, a scandal broke out when it was rumored that Hoecker had used a male prostitute as a model for a painting of the Madonna. Eventually, the scandal became more personal in nature, and he chose to resign from the academy.

Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician and sexologist. Hirschfeld was educated in philosophy, philology and medicine. An outspoken advocate for sexual minorities, Hirschfeld founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Com ...

: ''Von Einst bis Jetzt'', Berlin 1986. . He then travelled to Capri, where he stayed at the Villa Lysis, home of industrialist and poet

Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (20 February 1880 – 5 November 1923) was a French novelist and poet. His life forms the basis of a fictionalised 1959 novel by Roger Peyrefitte entitled '' The Exile of Capri'' ''(L'exilé de Capri)''. In 190 ...

, who had left Paris in the wake of his own scandal. While there, Hoecker painted several portraits of Fersen's lover,

Nino Cesarini Antonio Cesarini (30 September 1889 – 25 October 1943), better known by the diminutive name Nino, was a model for several artists, such as the photographer Wilhelm von Plüschow, painters Paul Hoecker and Umberto Brunelleschi and sculptor Franc ...

, a professional model. Though the '' Jugend'' magazine published one of his Nino portraits in 1904 – a fully clothed version. By 1901 he returned to Oberlangenau. In 1910, he died of what was diagnosed as " Roman Malaria".

Posthumous recognition

Despite his important role for the Munich art scene of the late 19th century, Paul Hoecker is hardly known today. This is probably due to the fact that he left the professorship in connection with his homosexuality. In October 2019 a research group was formed at the Forum Queeres Archiv München to investigate the life and work of the painter. Part of the family owned estate of Paul Hoecker has found its way into the archive of the Forum Queeres Archiv München and was digitalized. Paul Hoecker-Pierrot

References

External links