Walter Womacka (22 December 1925 – 18 September 2010) was a German Socialist Realist artist. His work was pioneering early

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

(GDR) aesthetics.

Biography

Walter Womacka was born on 22 December 1925 in

Horní Jiřetín Horní Jiřetín (; german: Obergeorgenthal) is a town in Most District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants. Administrative parts Horní Jiřetín consists of Černice, Dolní Jiřetín, Horní Ji ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He lived in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

for most of his life. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he did military service. Between 1946 and 1951, he studied art in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, and

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in Germany. In 1954, he moved back to Berlin. Womacka was the head of the

Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin, also known as Berlin-Weissensee Art Academy, School of Art and Design Berlin-Weissensee (german: Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee) is a non-profit, public art school An art school is an educational institutio ...

(former German name: Hochschule für Bildende und Angewandte Kunst Berlin-Weißensee), from 1968 until 1988. He had many notable students, including

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to overcome the ...

. In 1962, he created his most famous work, the oil painting "Am Strand", in which his daughter and younger brother were models. This work was a best selling reproduction, it was also used for German postage stamps. In the post-war rebuilding of Berlin, he designed many large public artworks, including

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows using the gemmail technique and large external

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

s in

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

. These artworks showing the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

ideal of "ordinary people" contributing to society are found decorating the buildings of government departments and factories. The ''Haus des Lehrers'' ("House of Teachers"- Education Department) on

Alexanderplatz () ( en, Alexander Square) is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the no ...

in the centre of East Berlin is decorated with a

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

showing the benefits of education. This work was fully restored between 2002 and 2004 after many years of neglect. Womacka died in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

on 18 September 2010. He is buried in Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde in Berlin.

Works

* ''Am Strand.'' 1962, oil on canvas. * ''Wenn Kommunisten träumen.'' 1976, Palace of the Republic, Berlin *''Erika Steinführer.'' oil on canvas, 1981 for the trade union federation FDGB (today Ludwig gallery lock Oberhausen)

Architecture-related mural work

* 1958,

Eisenhüttenstadt Eisenhüttenstadt (literally "ironworks city" in German; , dsb, Pśibrjog) is a town in the Oder-Spree district of the state of Brandenburg, Germany, on the border with Poland. East Germany founded the city in 1950. It was known as Stalinstadt ( ...

, natural stone mosaic in the town hall * 1959, Bad Elster, stained glass window in the drinking hall of the Marienquelle * 1960–1961,

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg ...

, three stained glass windows in the entrance hall to the Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen *1962, Berlin-Mitte, three stained glass windows in the staircase of the main building of

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

* 1963–1964, Berlin-Mitte, glass windows in the building of the former State Council of the GDR * 1964, Berlin-Mitte, natural stone mosaic at the ''Haus des Lehrers'' (English: House of the Teacher), Education Department) * 1966–1967,

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Ceramic wall in the entrance hall in the Central Office for international railway traffic (OCTI) * 1968, Berlin-Mitte, mural enamel on copper, "Man, the Measure of All Things"; at the former Ministry of Construction of the GDR, Breite Straße, now demolished and attached since autumn 2013 to a renovated prefabricated building on the Friedrichsgracht * 1968–1970, Berlin-Mitte, Fountain of Friendship of Nations on the Alexanderplatz * 1970,

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

, Wandbild ''Sonne und Taubenon the'' Karl-Marx-Straße (dismantled and now privately owned) * 1971, Berlin-Mitte, Der Mensch überwindet Zeit und Raum (English: Man Overcomes Time and Space), Berlin-Mitte, copper relief on the wall of the House of Travel (German: Haus des Reisens) * 1973 Oberhof, Wall decoration enamel on copper on ''Hotel Rennsteig'' (2001 demolished)

Awards

* 1957: Art Prize of the DSF 2. recognition award for the painting ''Rast bei der Ernte'' * 1959: Art Prize of the DDR for the painting ''Rast bei der Ernte'' * 1960: Art Prize of the FDGB for the painting ''Junge Genossenschaftsbäuerin'' * 1962: National Prize of the DDR III. Class * 1963:

Johannes-R.-Becher-Medaille The Johannes-R.-Becher-Medaille was a civil decoration of East Germany created in homage to the poet and politician Johannes R. Becher. It was awarded by the Cultural Association of the GDR. Description The medal is made of bronze, with a dia ...

* 1965: Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Gold (Patriotic Order of Merit in gold) * 1966: Erich-Weinert-Medaille * 1968: National Prize of the DDR II. Class for his artistic work * 1975: Art Prize of the FDGB * 1976: Banner der Arbeit in Gold (Banner of work in gold) * 1982: Hans-Grundig-Medaille * 1985: National Prize of the DDR I. Class * 2009: Menschenrechtspreis der Gesellschaft zum Schutz von Bürgerrecht und Menschenwürde (Human Rights Award of the Society for the Protection of Civil Rights and Human Dignity)

References

External links