Wilhelm Facklam (16 April 1893 – 21 September 1972) was a German

landscape artist Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

and

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

. The focus of his work was on the countryside of his home region,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

. He is one of the most important landscape artists in the tradition of the

Schwaan Schwaan is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is also the seat of the Schwaan Township, serving another six municipalities. The town is famous for being a traditional art colony. Geography The area a ...

Life

Facklam was born in

Upahl Upahl is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The former municipality Plüschow was merged into Upahl in January 2019. References

Nordwestmecklenburg {{Nordwestmecklenburg-geo-stub ...

, a village near

Grevesmühlen Grevesmühlen () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. It was the seat of the Nordwestmecklenburg district until 2011, when Wismar became the seat. It is situated 33 km east of Lübeck, and ...

. His father was a farmer, and after leaving secondary school in 1908 Facklam also worked in the agricultural sector for several years. He received his first artistic training only in 1914, from the landscape artist

Ludwig Dettmann Ludwig Julius Christian Dettmann (25 July 1865 – 19 November 1944) was a German Impressionism, Impressionist painter. Shortly before his death, he was added to the ''Gottbegnadeten list, Gottbegnadeten'' list, a roster of artists considered cruc ...

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

. Artistic training was interrupted by the outbreak of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

at the end of July 1914 and four years of military service. However, from 1919/20, on the recommendation of

Carl Malchin Carl Wilhelm Christian Malchin (14 May 1838, Kröpelin - 23 January 1923, Schwerin) was a German landscape painter and art conservator. Life His father was a member of the Mecklenburg legislature. He attended the Realschule in Rostock, then w ...

(1838-1923), he pursued his studies with

Franz Bunke Franz Wilhelm Johann Bunke (3 December 1857, Schwaan - 6 July 1939, Weimar) was a German landscape painter. Life He was the son of a mill builder. In 1871, he began drawing lessons with Paul Tischbein in Rostock and attended a trade school a ...

, also spending time at the Arts Academy in

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 ...

where he remained till 1923. This was the year in which he settled to a career as a freelance artist in

. In 1930, together with his friend and fellow artist Richard Zscheked (1885-1954) he established an art school at Schwerin. One of their better known pupils was (1903-1990) who received his first artistic education at the school.

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

returned in 1939, and from then till 1945 Facklam served initially as a soldier and subsequently as a prisoner of war, returning to

in 1946. In 1963, now aged 70, he was able to relocate on health grounds, moving to Winkelhaid on the edge of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. Facklam was a member of the German National League of Visual artists until the organisation was abolished directly following a change of government early in 1933. He was a member of the "Mecklenburg Artists' League", the "Union of Schwerin Artists" and of the "Artists Collective of Nuremberg".

Works (a small selection)

* "Blick auf Crivitz" (''View of Crivitz'') * "Blick auf Schwerin" * "Im Wismarer Hafen" (''In Wismar harbour'') * "Blick auf Schwaan" (1920) * "Landschaft bei Schwaan" (1922) (''Landscape near Schwaan'') * "Grauer Wintertag“ (1923) (''Grey winter day'') * "Weiden im Kornfeld“ (1924) (''Grazing in the corn field'') * "Katen in Upahl" (1926) (''Cottages in Upahl'') * "Morgenstimmung an der Warnow" (1927) (''Morning atmosphere on the (River) Warnow'') * "Kartoffelernte“ (ca 1930) (''Potato harvest'') * "Windmühle“ (1930) (''Windmill'') * "Schäfer mit Schafen“ (1937/38) (''Shephard with sheep'') * "Baumgruppe im Herbst“ (1940) (''Group of trees in Autumn'') * "Bauernhof“ (1941) (''Farmhouse'') * "Alt-Mecklenburg" (1957)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Facklam, Wilhelm 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters German landscape painters People from Schwerin 1893 births 1972 deaths