Carl Grossberg, originally Georg Carl Wilhelm Grandmontagne (6 September 1894 – 19 October 1940) was a German painter associated with the

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

movement; best known for his urban and industrial scenes.

Biography

He received his primary education in Lennep and

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...

. After 1913, he studied architecture in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

. During that time, his father changed the family name from Grandmontagne to Grossberg; much to Carl's displeasure. He was drafted in 1915 and sent to the front, where he was wounded. After being mustered out in 1918, he returned to Elberfeld. In 1919, he resumed his studies; first with Walther Klemm at the "Hochschule für Bildende Künste" in Weimar then, in 1921, with

Lyonel Feininger Lyonel Charles Adrian Feininger (; July 17, 1871January 13, 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City. In 1887 h ...

at the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

. Upon completing his studies, he moved to

Sommerhausen Sommerhausen is a municipality and market town in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria, 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 n ...

, near

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

, where he was married in 1923 to Mathilde Schwarz. Three years later, he had his first solo exhibition in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, followed by another at the Galerie Nierendorf in Berlin and several others in Cologne and Düsseldorf. His most successful showing came in 1929 at the "Neue Sachlichkeit" exhibition in the

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

in Amsterdam. Two years later, the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

awarded him its "Rompreis". After 1933, he began work on an ambitious series of paintings he called the "Industrial Plan", depicting Germany's most important industries, but it was never completed. The following year, he received a commission for a monumental wall painting, to be displayed at an exhibition called "German People-German Work". A major retrospective was held at the

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

in 1935. In August 1939, he was drafted again and sent as an officer to the Polish front. While on leave in France, he was involved in automobile accident in the

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

. His official death is listed as October 19, 1940. While most biographers list Grossberg as dying from the automobile accident, some historians believe that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Selected paintings

Carl Grossberg Creglingen 1926.jpg, Creglingen, 1926 Carl Grossberg Traumbild Dampfkessel mit Fledermaus 1928.jpg, Steam Boiler with Bat, 1928 Carl Grossberg Komposition mit Turbine 1929.jpg, Composition with Turbine, 1929 Carl Grossberg Car Factory 1936.jpg, Automobile fabrication, 1936

References

* Michalski, Sergiusz (1994). ''New Objectivity''. Cologne:

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt Taschen and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Tasch ...

. * Schmied, Wieland (1978). ''Neue Sachlichkeit and German Realism of the Twenties''. London: Arts Council of Great Britain. * Ingo F. Walher (red.) ''Kunst in de 20e eeuw. Deel II. Bijlage: Biografieën''. Taschen, Cologne 2005

External links

ArtNet: More works by Grossberg.
@ Weimar Art (blog)
Harvard Art Museum Archives: Dietlinde Hamburger Collection of Carl Grossberg Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossberg, Carl 1894 births 1940 deaths Bauhaus alumni People from Elberfeld 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters Road incident deaths in France Artists from the Rhine Province Artists from Wuppertal Painters from North Rhine-Westphalia German Army personnel of World War I German Army officers of World War II