Ludwig Julius Christian Dettmann (25 July 1865 – 19 November 1944) was a German

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter. Shortly before his death, he was added to the '' Gottbegnadeten'' list, a roster of artists considered crucial to

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

culture.

Biography

Dettmann was born in the Prussian town of Adelby, now a part of

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

. His father was a customs officer who was transferred to Hamburg while Ludwig was still a small child. After some studies at a local arts and crafts school, he transferred to 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 ...

, where he studied with

Eugen Bracht Eugen Felix Prosper Bracht (3 June 1842 – 5 November 1921) was a German landscape painter. Biography Bracht was born in Morges, Waadt (near Lake Geneva in Switzerland) of German parents. His family later moved to Darmstadt, Germany, where ...

and Franz Skarbina. He originally worked as an illustrator.Biographies of Kunstakademie Konigsberg Directors
@ Kant-Forschungsstelle. Dettmann-Battle

After 1891, he was a teacher at the drawing and painting school of the

Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen The Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen (English: Association of Berlin Women Artists) is the oldest existing association of women artists in Germany. It maintains the ''archive Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen 1867 e. V.,'' publishes club announ ...

". In 1894, he won a small gold medal at the "", a major annual event that ran from 1893 to 1969. (He would win a large gold medal there in 1909). Under the influence of

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

, he turned to landscape painting in oils and watercolors. His first major project consisted of four murals at the town hall in Altona, depicting the city's history. In 1898, he was one of the founders 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, together with Max Liebermann, Walter Leistikow, , Oskar Frenzel, Curt Herrmann and Fritz Klimsch, was a member of the advisory board. In 1900, he was appointed Director of the Kunstakademie Konigsberg. He also belonged to the committee charged with selecting artists for the popular

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...

s in

Stollwerck Stollwerck Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH is a German chocolate manufacturer based in Norderstedt. It was founded in 1839 and expanded internationally in Europe and America, becoming the second largest producer of chocolate in t ...

chocolates. In 1915, he organized the Army and Marine exhibition, composed of heroic war and battle scenes. It was shown at the Berlin Academy and at the Königsberger Art Association the following year. He contributed portraits of Generals

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (; 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Battle of Liège, Liège and Battle ...

and

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

. For the remainder of the war, he was an official

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

. After the war, he returned to Berlin. In 1923, he illustrated both volumes of ''Weltbrand – Deutschlands Tragödie 1914–1918'' (Conflagration, Germany's Tragedy), a detailed examination of the war and its aftermath by the novelist Walter Bloem, an ardent nationalist. In October 1928, with

Theo Matejko Theo Matejko (18 June 1893 – 9 September 1946) was an Austrian illustrator. He served in World War I and covered racing car events. In October 1928, with Ludwig Dettmann, he was invited on the first transatlantic flight of the airship LZ 127 ...

, he was invited on the first transatlantic flight of the airship ''Graf Zeppelin'', where he made an artistic record of the voyage. After Hitler seized power, Dettmann joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

and served on the board of the "" (Reich Association of Visual Artists). He would remain a party member until his death. In 1935, he was awarded the "

Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft The Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft (Goethe Medal for Art and Science) is a German award. It was authorized by Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg to commemorate the centenary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's death on March 22, 1932. It ...

" and was chairman of the "" for the year 1936–37. In 1938 he wrote ''Ostfront. Ein Denkmal des Deutschen Kampfes'' (Eastern Front, a Monument to the German Struggle). Shortly before his death in Berlin in 1944, his name was added to the

Gottbegnadeten list The ''Gottbegnadeten-Liste'' ("God-gifted list" or "Important Artist Exempt List") was a 36-page list of artists considered crucial to National Socialist culture. The list was assembled in September 1944 by Joseph Goebbels, the head of the Mi ...

of artists crucial to Nazi culture. In 1946, ''Ostfront'' was placed on the "Liste der auszusondernden Literatur" ("weeded-out" literature), a list of Nazi works that were forbidden in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

.List of forbidden works
@ Polunbi-Katalog.

Selected paintings

1897 Dettmann Bei den Wasserrosen im Moor anagoria.JPG, By the Waterlilies in the Moor, 1897 Ludwig Dettmann Garten mit Stuhl.jpg, Garden with Chair Dettmann-Wave.jpg, Wave File:Ludwig Dettmann - Outono da vida.jpg, The Autumn of Life

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Dettmann.

Volume One of ''Weltbrand''
@ Google Books

@ Bei K.A.T.I. - Kultur und mehr... (blog) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dettmann, Ludwig 1865 births 1944 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists People from Flensburg German Impressionist painters German war artists Nazi Party members Academic staff of Kunstakademie Königsberg

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links