upLucy Ortlepp's home in 2014 upstumbling-stone dedicated to Lucy Ortlepp Lucy Ortlepp (

born Born may refer to: * Childbirth * Born (surname), a surname (see also for a list of people with the name) * ''Born'' (comics), a comic book limited series Places * Born, Belgium, a village in the German-speaking Community of Belgium * Born, Luxe ...

Lucy Bock 2 February 1883 in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

, died 30 August 1943 in

Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

) was a German painter of Jewish descent.

Life

Lucy Bock was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She did not receive regular admission to a university at the beginning of the 20th century; such admission was not usually granted to women at the time. At the age of 16, 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 ...

to join the '' Association of Berlin Women Artists'', which was self-organised by women, and began studying art and painting privately. Two years later, she completed her training as a drawing teacher. She then undertook study trips to Switzerland, Italy and England. When she returned to Berlin, she continued her studies with

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secessio ...

. She was primarily interested in portraits and still lifes and used pencil, chalk, red chalk and watercolours. It was probably in Berlin that she met the budding librarian Paul Ortlepp. After he graduated in 1907, the couple married in 1908. Lucy Ortlepp gave

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 ...

drawing and painting lessons. When she married, she converted to Christianity and became a Protestant, but in the eyes of the National Socialists this did not compensate for her Jewish origins. The couple suffered reprisals from 1933 onwards. In 1937, Paul Ortlepp, who did not want to separate from his wife, was given early retirement. An attempt to emigrate to Switzerland in the spring of 1939 failed. He was not at home when his wife was arrested in 1943 and then deported to Auschwitz via Theresienstadt. She was murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Around 1927/28, the '' Haus Trettner'' was built at Ratstannenweg 21 in Weimar in the style 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., ...

. The now listed house was bought by the Ortlepp couple in 1930.https://architekt-rost-weimar.de/seite_architek_ratstannenweg/seite_architek_ratstannenweg.html A

Stolperstein A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

was set into the pavement in front of the house for Lucy Ortlepp.

Bibliography

* Sebastian Krumbiegel and others: ''Stolperstein Geschichten Weimar'', Eckhaus-Verlag, Weimar 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortlepp, Lucy Jewish women painters Jewish painters 20th-century German women category:1883 births category:1943 deaths