Joseph Fassbender (Faßbender) (14 April 1903 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

– 5 January 1974 in Cologne) 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 draughtsman.

Life and art

During the 1920s Fassbender was trained in painting by

Richard Seewald Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and i ...

at the

Kölner Werkschulen The ''Kölner Werkschulen'' (Cologne Academy of Fine and Applied Arts), formerly Cologne Art and Craft Schools, was a university in Cologne training artists in visual arts, architecture and design from 1926 to 1971. History Origins The origin ...

. Since 1928, he ran his own studio in

. As an artist, he primarily produced

abstract painting Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

s. During the Second World War he was obliged to work as a Wehrmacht cartographer. Since 1946 he ran a studio at Bornheim near Bonn. In 1947 Fassbender founded at Schloss

Alfter Alfter () is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km west of Bonn. Location The community of Alfter lies west of former capital of Bonn, on the southern ridge of the "V ...

near Bornheim, together with

Hann Trier Hann Trier (1 August 1915 in Düsseldorf – 14 June 1999 in Castiglione della Pescaia in Tuscany) was a German artist, best known for his giant ceiling painting in the Charlottenburg Palace. He was married to a sociologist Renata Mayntz and was th ...

, Hubert Berke and some other artists and men of letters, the "Donnerstagsgesellschaft" in order to revive, and promote, modern painting in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

. In 1951 he organized an exhibition for his friend,

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 ...

. In 1955, 1959 and 1964, Fassbender participated at the

documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

s I-III in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. In 1958 the artist was appointed professor of painting and drawing at 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 ...

, where he retired in 1968. Fassbender also designed many placards and book jackets.

Awards

* 1929 Villa Romana prize * 1955 Großer Kunstpreis der Stadt Köln * 1964

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* 1964 Prize for Graphic Art,

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

Works

* "Vihaminazhera" and untitled wall-paintings at the

Beethovenhalle The Beethovenhalle () is a concert hall in Bonn. It is the third hall in the city to bear the name of the Bonn-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The initial building was constructed in 1845 to commemorate the unveilling of the Beethoven monumen ...

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 ...

* "Coincidentia oppositorum" - wall-paintings in the entrance hall of the Gesamtschule Bonn-Bad Godesberg * Tapestries for the Staatskanzlei

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 ...

and the city hall of

* Design for the paving of the

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...

building in Cologne

References

External links

Artist website
* ttp://www.wz-newsline.de/home/kultur/kunst/joseph-fassbender-neu-entdeckt-1.139600 Helga Meister, "Joseph Fassbender neu entdeckt."''

Westdeutsche Zeitung The ''Westdeutsche Zeitung'' (''WZ'') () is one of the largest regional newspapers in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its headquarters is in Wuppertal with additional offices in Düsseldorf and Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld ...

'', 17 September 2009.
Schau für Nachkriegs-Künstler Joseph Fassbender
''

Aachener Zeitung ''Aachener Zeitung'' (; ; AZ) is a daily newspaper published in Aachen, Germany. It is printed, alongside the daily ''Aachener Nachrichten'' (AN), by Mediahuis in the Rhenish (format), Rhenish format. History The AZ was founded in 1946 as ''A ...

'', 17 September 2009.
Stadt Brühl: Joseph Fassbender
''Artnet''
Oxford Grove Art: Joseph Fassbender
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassbender, Joseph German draughtsmen 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters 1903 births 1974 deaths Painters from Cologne Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Academic staff of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf

Life and art

Awards

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links