Fritz Roeber (15 October 1851,

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 ...

– 15 May 1924,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

) was a German illustrator,

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

and

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek mythology, Greek and Roman my ...

, associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule. As Director of the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

, he carried out some significant organizational changes.

Biography

His father was the writer Friedrich Roeber, who also served as the

Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

for Elberfeld. After completing his primary education, he studied painting at a private school operated by Eduard Bendemann. His studies were interrupted by service in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

then, in the mid-1870s, he presented some large lithographs on Biblical themes. Roeber-Viking

He accepted a major commission from

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

to design figurative jewelry for a gold trophy, to be presented to Prince (later Kaiser)

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Wilhe ...

on the occasion of his wedding. Later, he became a co-founder of the "Central-Gewerbe-Vereins" (Central Trade Association) and helped to develop the local arts and crafts industry. From 1893, he was an instructor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. During the early part of the 20th century, he was involved in organizing several large, international exhibitions and a memorial plaque in his honor was placed at the ."Gedenktafel für Fritz Roeber"
in ''Rhein und Düssel'' (Nr. 14) From 1908 to 1924, he served as Director of the Kunstakademie. His tastes and approach to governing were considered to be rather conservative for the time.Kristina Kratz-Kessemeier: ''Kunst für die Republik. Die Kunstpolitik des preußischen Kultusministeriums 1918 bis 1932''. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2008,
Online
@ Google Books) Despite this, he was constantly making additions to the curriculum; including workshops for church art 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 ...

. In 1919, following a partial merger with the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for the ...

(Arts and Crafts School), he hired seven instructors to teach the new subjects that would be added: the painter , sculptor Hubert Netzer, graphic artist Ernst Aufseeser and three architects;

Wilhelm Kreis Wilhelm Kreis (17 March 1873 – 13 August 1955) was a prominent German architect and professor of architecture, active through four political systems in German history: the Wilhelmine era, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the found ...

Emil Fahrenkamp Emil Fahrenkamp (November 8, 1885, Aachen – May 24, 1966, Ratingen-Breitscheid) was a German architect and professor. One of the most prominent architects of the period between the first and second World Wars, he is best known for his 1931 ...

(the Kunstgewerbeschule's former director) and . He also oversaw the construction of new studio buildings for the Kunstakademie, along the Rhine, designed to be an "art city on the English model". These were demolished in 1937 to make room for the Reichsausstellung Schaffendes Volk (now the ). A street that runs alongside the Kunstakademie has been named after him. His older brother, , was also an instructor there.

References

External links

* ''Kölner Humor im Malkasten''
Digitalisierte Ausgabe
* ''Erica''
Digitalisierte Ausgabe

''Fritz Roeber''
Data sheet @ the

Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roeber, Fritz 1851 births 1924 deaths Artists from Wuppertal Painters from North Rhine-Westphalia German history painters Academic staff of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf People from Elberfeld

Biography

References

Further reading

External links