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Alexander Gustav Georg Olbricht (6 June 1876, in Breslau – 11 November 1942, in
His father, Gustav Olbricht (1851–1892) was a painter and art restorer at the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts. At the age of sixteen, he was employed by the firm of "P. Strunk", an art material supplier. After his father's death, he enrolled at the , where he studied with the landscape painter, .
In 1899, he transferred to the
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olbricht, Alexander 1876 births 1942 deaths Artists from Wrocław 20th-century German engravers 20th-century German etchers 19th-century German etchers
Alexander Gustav Georg Olbricht (6 June 1876, in Breslau – 11 November 1942, in Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
) was a German artist. He created approximately 2,000 graphics, engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...
s, silhouettes
A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...
and oil paintings.
Biography
His father, Gustav Olbricht (1851–1892) was a painter and art restorer at the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts. At the age of sixteen, he was employed by the firm of "P. Strunk", an art material supplier. After his father's death, he enrolled at the , where he studied with the landscape painter, .
In 1899, he transferred to the Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar
The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when ...
, and studied with Theodor Hagen. Five years later, he married Margarethe Thurow (1882–1972), from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; ) 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, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
, whom he had met at the school. After this, he gradually gave up oil painting in favor of graphics and printmaking.
In 1908, he produced his first large format etchings and, the following year, produced a series of twenty small format etchings depicting Weimar and its surroundings. He was drafted at the beginning of World War I but, due to his relatively frail condition, served only briefly as a batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
to an officer in Weimar.
In 1921, he was named a professor at Bauhaus University
The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is a university located in Weimar, Germany, and specializes in the artistic and technical fields. Established in 1860 as the Great Ducal Saxon Art School, it gained collegiate status on 3 June 1910. In 1919 the s ...
. He served until 1935, when he was dismissed for political reasons, despite having become tenured. In 1936, the Nazi
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 ...
government dissolved and banned the Deutscher Künstlerbund
The Deutscher Kuenstlerbund (Association of German Artists) was founded in 1903 on the initiative of Count Harry Kessler, a promoter of arts and artists; Alfred Lichtwark, director of the Hamburg Art Gallery; and the famous painters Lovis Corin ...
, of which he had been a member for many years. Together, this resulted in a period of stagnation and depression. Nevertheless, in 1939, he was able to complete his last major cycle of etchings, "The First Snow".
He died of a stroke in 1942. Following the war, a street in Weimar was named after him, his studio was reconstructed at the Stadtmuseum Weimar and a plaque was placed on his home. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library
The Duchess Anna Amalia Library () in Weimar, Germany, houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. In 1991, the tricentennial of its opening to the public, the Ducal Library was renamed for Duchess Anna Amalia. Toda ...
acquired 88 books from his estate. Some of his works may be seen at 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 and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
.
References
Further reading
* Walter Hertzsch: ''Alexander Olbricht - Zeichnungen'', Insel-Verlag (1989) * Alexander Olbricht: ''Vierundzwanzig Zweige, Der erste Schnee : zwei Folgen farbiger Zeichnungen'' (The First Snow), Insel-Verlag (1987) * Cornelius Müller Hofstede: ''Hinter Drahtzaun und Bahnschranke: zur Ausstellung von Professor Alexander Olbricht im Schlesischen Museum der bildenden Künste in Breslau'', 1941.External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olbricht, Alexander 1876 births 1942 deaths Artists from Wrocław 20th-century German engravers 20th-century German etchers 19th-century German etchers