Charles Crodel
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Charles Crodel (September 16, 1894 – November 11, 1973) was a German
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
artist.


Life

Crodel was born in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, he studied in 1914 with
Richard Riemerschmid Richard Riemerschmid (20 June 1868 – 13 April 1957) was a German architect, painter, designer and city planner from Munich. He was a major figure in ''Jugendstil'', the German form of Art Nouveau, and a founder of architecture in the style. A ...
, one of the founders of the
Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The ''Werkbund'' became an important element in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, parti ...
, at the Munich Kunstgewerbeschule and since 1915 at the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...
, while he became painter and lithographer. He was a member of the
Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artist ...
and of the executive board of the Jena art-union and became a close friend of
Gerhard Marcks Gerhard Marcks (18 February 1889 – 13 November 1981) was a German artist, known primarily as a sculptor, but who is also known for his drawings, woodcuts, lithographs and ceramics. Early life Marcks was born in Berlin, where, at the age of 18, ...
. In 1923, the German National Gallery of Art at Berlin and later the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris bought first his
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s and lithographies. A mural in the University of Jena, another in the
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 ...
Schlossmuseum, bought by Wilhelm Köhler, and a third in
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
remain of that time. From 1927 on, Crodel taught printing and monumental painting at the "Burg Giebichenstein", the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Halle until 1933 when he was dismissed, but he continued to teach in a private circle at the house of
Paul Frankl Paul Frankl (22 April 1878 – 30 January 1962) was an art historian born in Austria-Hungary. Frankl is most known for his writings on the history and principles of architecture, which he famously presented within a Gestalt-oriented framework. Ea ...
. In these years, Crodels murals in Halle and the murals dedicated to
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
in 1932 at
Bad Lauchstädt Bad Lauchstädt (; until 1925 ''Lauchstädt''), officially the Goethe Town of Bad Lauchstädt (), is a town in the district Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 13 km southwest of Halle. Population 8,781 (2020). Lauchstädt was a popular wat ...
were destroyed in summer 1933 and had been ejected from the gleichgeschaltet (Nazi sympathetic Arts organisation) group for creating Degenerate art. At this time many refugees brought Crodels paintings and prints, which now are found at Louisville, The
North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that ...
, Raleigh, the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the supp ...
and the Luther College, Decorah. The following years Crodel found new fields of work. He designed glass decoration in Industry (together with
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Wilhelm Wagenfeld (15 April 1900, Bremen, German Empire — 28 May 1990, Stuttgart, West Germany) was a German industrial designer and former student of the Bauhaus art school. He designed glass and metal works for the Jenaer Glaswerk Schot ...
), and he explored pottery decoration together with
Hedwig Bollhagen Hedwig Bollhagen (born in Hanover on 10 November 1907; died in Marwitz on 8 June 2001) was a German ceramicist and co-founder of the HB Workshops for Ceramics. A museum dedicated to her work has been opened near Berlin. Life Hedwig Bollhagen wa ...
, while Elisabeth Crodel completed
embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
. Bollhagen with the Jewish artist Nora Herz had acquired a pottery business from
Margarete Heymann Margarete Heymann (August 10, 1899 – 11 November 1990), also known as Margarete Heymann-Löbenstein, Margarete Heymann-Marks, and Grete Marks, was a German ceramic artist of Jewish origin and a Bauhaus student. In 1923 she founded the Haël ...
to revitalize the old factory near
Velten Velten () is a town in the Oberhavel district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 10 km southwest of Oranienburg, and 24 km northwest of Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by b ...
, to give work for Theodor Bogler, Werner Burri, Thoma Gräfin Grote and others also from the pottery workshop of 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., ...
at
Dornburg Dornburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It sits atop a small hill of 400 ft above the Saale. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg. History Within the German Empire (1871–1918) ...
, like Heymann. Bollhagen worked closely with Crodel. Crodel's friendship was said to be important to Bollhagen.Hedwig Bollhagen
FemBio.org, retrieved 14 April 2014
Crodel also began to paint
stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
and to design
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 (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s. In 1945, Crodel again taught at Halle, but also at the
Berlin Academy of Arts The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...
and Dresden, and from 1952 at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...
, which had been brought together with the Munich Kunstgewerbeschule in 1947. He also became a member of the renewed
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 ...
and
Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The ''Werkbund'' became an important element in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, parti ...
. From 1958 on Crodel also several times was invited as visiting professor to the
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
and Louisville Universities. Among his students were Bob Thompson and
Sam Gilliam Sam Gilliam ( ; November 30, 1933 – June 25, 2022) was an American abstract Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor, and Visual arts education, arts educator. Born in Mississippi, and raised in Kentucky, Gilliam spent his entire adult life in ...
.


Stained glass

Crodel's stained-glass windows are found in Germany and in Sweden. Beautiful examples are found in the Frankfurt city churches,
St. Catherine's Church, Frankfurt St. Catherine's Church () is the largest Protestant church in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is a parish church in the old city centre near one of the most famous city squares, the Hauptwache. The church is dedicated to the martyred early Christ ...
,
Alsfeld Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, with nearby Lauterbach, Hesse, Lauterbach (about ...
,
Erfurt Cathedral Erfurt Cathedral (, officially ''Hohe Domkirche St. Marien zu Erfurt'', English: Cathedral Church of St Mary at Erfurt), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is the largest and oldest church building in the Thuringian city of Erfurt, ...
,
Kaulsdorf (Berlin) Kaulsdorf () is a locality within the borough Marzahn-Hellersdorf of Berlin. Kaulsdorf was incorporated into Greater Berlin by the Prussian Greater Berlin Act in 1920. From then on it belonged to the former borough of Lichtenberg until 1979, ...
,
Königs Wusterhausen Königs Wusterhausen (; , ) is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany a few kilometers outside Berlin. Geography Geographical location Königs Wusterhausen – locally known as "KW" () or "KWh" ()– lie ...
,
Heinersdorf Heinersdorf () is a locality in the boroughs of Berlin, borough of Pankow in Berlin, Germany. It is located close to the Pankow (locality), centre of Pankow. History Heinersdorf was first mentioned in a 1319 document when it was sold by Waldema ...
,
Halberstadt Cathedral The Halberstadt Cathedral or Church of St Stephen and St Sixtus () is a Gothic architecture, Gothic church in Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was the episcopal see of the Bishopric of Halberstadt, established by Emperor Charlemagne in 80 ...
, St. Jacobi, Hamburg, St. Mary's Church, Fuhlsbüttel, Hamburg, St. Matthew's Church, Hamburg,
St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim The Church of St. Michael ( German: ''Michaeliskirche'') is an early- Romanesque church located in Hildesheim, Germany. It has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1985 due to the before mentioned early-Romanesque architecture and ...
,
St. John's Church, Lüneburg The Church of John the Baptist (Germ. ''St. Johannis'' or ''Johanniskirche'') is the oldest Evangelical Church in Germany, Lutheran church in Lüneburg, Germany. It is located in the city centre. Lüneburg is on the European Route of Brick Gothic ...
,
Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...
. Returning from a session of the Berlin Academy of Arts, Crodel died in 1973 in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, at the age of 79.


Exhibitions

University of Louisville: Allen R. Hite Art Institute: Paintings and Graphic Work by Charles Crodel, October 6–28, 1958. Introduction by
Justus Bier Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism; he probably a ...
and Senta Bier.Selected works from the University collection, 1978/1979, no. 37: Charles Crodel,
Wilhelm Worringer Wilhelm Robert Worringer (13 January 1881 in Aachen – 29 March 1965 in Munich) was a German art historian known for his theories about Abstraction, abstract art and its relation to avant-garde movements such as German Expressionism. Through his i ...
und Herbert Koch, Morris B. Belknap, Jr. Bequest Fund, 1958.


Portraits

* ''
Walter Hasenclever Walter Georg Alfred Hasenclever (8 July 1890 – 22 June 1940) was a German Jewish Expressionist poet and playwright. His works were banned when the Nazis came to power and he went into exile in France. There he was imprisoned as a "foreign e ...
'', lithography, 1920. * ''
Theodor Däubler Theodor Däubler (17 August 1876 – 13 June 1934) was a poet and cultural critic in the German language. He was born in Trieste, then part of Austro-Hungary and has been described as "Trieste's most important German-speaking writer". Early life ...
'', lithography, 1921. * ''
Wilhelm Worringer Wilhelm Robert Worringer (13 January 1881 in Aachen – 29 March 1965 in Munich) was a German art historian known for his theories about Abstraction, abstract art and its relation to avant-garde movements such as German Expressionism. Through his i ...
and Herbert Koch'', woodcut, 1922. * ''Die Töpferin Marguerite Friedlaender'', painting, Berliner Sezession, 64. Ausstellung: Künstler unter sich. Malerei. Plastik. April / März 1931.


Bibliography

* ''Carl Crodel. Malerei – Graphik – Kunsthandwerk''. (Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle, 27. Juli – 10. Oktober 1982, Galerie am Fischmarkt Erfurt, 19. Dezember 1982 – 13. Februar 1983). Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, Halle 1982. * Cornelius Steckner: "Ch. Crodel. Kunst, Handwerk, Industrie". Kulturamt der Stadt Hannover, Hannover 1983. * Cornelius Steckner: ''Charles Crodel. Das graphische Werk''. Ketterer, München 1985. * Horst Ludwig: ''Münchner Maler im 19./20. Jahrhundert''. Vol. 5: ''Achmann-Kursell''. Bruckmann, München 1993, , S. 157–160. * Katja Schneider: ''Charles Crodel – Kunsthandwerk. Zum 100. Geburtstag''. Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle, 16. September – 27. November 1994. Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg, Halle 1994, .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crodel, Charles 1894 births 1974 deaths German modern painters German stained glass artists and manufacturers Artists from Marseille University of Jena alumni University of Louisville faculty Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin