The August-Macke-Haus or August Macke House is a museum in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, opened in 1991, dedicated to the

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 ...

painter

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly activ ...

. It is located in Macke's former home, where he lived from 1911 to 1914. The museum displays reconstructed interiors and houses temporary exhibitions, usually focusing on Expressionism. In the August-Macke-Haus, Macke's studio has been restored, including furniture from his Tegernsee days. A basic archive of Rhenish Expressionism is available in addition to a reference library.

History

On October 5, 1909,

married his long-time girlfriend, Elisabeth Gerhardt. The couple first lived on

Tegernsee Tegernsee () is a Town#Germany, town in the Miesbach (district), Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the banks of Tegernsee (lake), Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) AMSL, above sea level. A spa town, it is su ...

, then moved to

. Macke painted continuously, was increasingly finding his direction and urgently needed a studio. This was set up in the attic of the house of his mother-in-law, Sophie Gerhardt, built in 1877–1878, at Bornheimer Strasse 88 (now 96); the renovation was carried out according to plans by the Bonn architect Hermann Schmitt. The father-in-law, the entrepreneur Carl Heinrich Gerhardt, had bought the house in 1884 as his company's archive and furnished it for the purpose. He died in 1907. In February 1911 Macke moved into this house with his wife and son Walter. The studio was Macke's first and only. The few years when was able to work there turned out to be his most productive. The artist completed more than 400 paintings while living in the house. He also often painted his surroundings, the view from the house, the streets and the garden. At the time, Macke had made relatively long journeys to know better modern painting, innovative artists and new surroundings. In the place where he now lived, he welcomed people like

Franz Marc Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaking, printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider), a journal whose ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (; 12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist of the School of Paris movement; who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism (art), Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and g ...

Gabriele Münter Gabriele Münter (19 February 1877 – 19 May 1962) was a German expressionist painter who was at the forefront of the Munich avant-garde in the early 20th century. She studied and lived with the painter Wassily Kandinsky and was a founding mem ...

and

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

. With Franz Marc, Macke painted the large mural ''Paradise'' on the studio wall in 1912. It was dismantled in 1980 and is now in the

Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History The Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History (''LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte'') is an arts and cultural museum in Münster, Germany. Collections and Specializations The museum's collection includes: * Late Gothic ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. It was replaced by a copy in the original size, now on display in the Macke Museum. In 1914, shortly after the start of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Macke was killed in action in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the age of 27. After two years, his widow married a friend of her husband's,

Lothar Erdmann Karl Hermann Dietrich Lothar Erdmann (12 October 1888 – 18 September 1939) was a German journalist. During the Weimar Republic he was the editor of the trade union theory organ '. He was a main supporter of the turning away of trade unions fro ...

. She lived with him and Macke's two sons (Erdmann's two children would come later) in the same house until 1925, when she moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The house was then rented, but not the studio. Her second husband died in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

in 1939. Elisabeth returned to the house in 1948 and set up in the studio, in which she lived until 1975, before moving back to Berlin, where she died in 1978. A bronze plaque commemorating August Macke was attached to the house in the presence of the students who had suggested it and Ms. Erdmann-Macke in 1972 and still hangs there. The house, which had not been listed until then, was acquired by a building contractor from

who wanted to gutt the house and convert it into a restaurant, after the above-mentioned mural had been translocated. Margarethe Jochimsen, chairwoman of the Bonner Kunstverein, founded a citizens' initiative to put the house under a preservation order and thus prevent the renovation. In 1989 the association "August Macke Haus" was founded, which became responsible for the museum's artistic program. In the same year the house was taken by the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

and the sponsor and building contractor Herbert Hillebrand bought it to be properly renovated, to have Macke's studio restored and open to the public. On September 26, 1991, the August-Macke-Haus was officially opened in the presence of the then Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia,

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia fro ...

. Margarethe Jochimsen was the founding director. The financial sponsor of the house, the "August Macke Haus der Sparkasse Bonn Foundation", was founded in 1994.Margarethe Jochimsen, "Das August-Macke-Haus in Bonn: Ein Stück bundeshauptstädtischer Kulturpolitik", in ''Kritische Berichte'', Band 16, Nr. 3/1988 (German), ISSN 0340-7403

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:August-Macke-Haus Art museums and galleries in Germany Biographical museums in Germany Historic house museums in Germany Museums in Bonn Art museums and galleries established in 1991 1991 establishments in Germany Macke August Macke

History

See also

References

External links