Otto Soltau - The Centaur Playing With Her Child

Otto Soltau (27 March 1885 in

Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...

– 27 May 1915) was a German painter who grew up in

Arnis Arnis, also known as kali or eskrima/escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. These three terms are, sometimes, interchangeable in referring to traditional martial arts of the Philippines (" Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), wh ...

. Like

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly activ ...

, he was one of the young German artists who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Life

Otto Soltau grew up in the former ferry house on today's "Neuer Damm" in Arnis – the house belonged to the captain Wilhelm Luth, the brother-in-law of Soltau's parents. The town of Arnis, which was affected by the decline of sailing ships at the time, tried to establish itself as a resort around 1900, which also led to a number of painters visiting the small town on the

Schlei The Schlei (; or e.g. in: Adolph Frederik Bergsøe: ''Den danske stats statistik'', Kjøbenhavn 1844, p. 156) is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles (32 kilometer ...

. He was inspired by one of these painters, a landscape painter from Hamburg, and at the age of 15 went to

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

for an apprenticeship as a decoration apprentice. With a scholarship he was later able to study at the local arts and crafts school for a year. Otto Soltau volunteered for military service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Like so many others, he saw war as an elemental force that attracted him. At the front he had to experience that in reality death is not as sublime as he had imagined in some of his works, but can be dirty and "hideous". In 1915 he was wounded during an officer training course on the Eastern Front and died shortly afterwards in

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, Poland. The family graves of Soltau and Luth families still stand on the Arniss cemetery today, not far from the entrance to the Schifferkirche. Otto Soltau is listed as one of the fallen in World War I on a memorial stone at the church. Since 2018, it has been possible to call up a spoken life story on a mobile phone using a QR code in the cemetery.

Work

At the beginning Soltau painted portraits as well as naturalistic animal pictures. In addition, he drew caricatures that mocked the military worship of the bourgeoisie, which was widespread at the time. From 1909 to 1912 he lived in Munich and turned to symbolist content in his painting, including: themes of antiquity and the Bible took up. The result was the painting ''The Centaur Playing with Her Child'' and the lithograph ''David'' (1910), which was distributed as a calendar sheet in 1913. After moving to Berlin, he concentrated on Nordic mythology, which he had already learned from the stories his mother told him in Arnis. The main reason for this reorientation was probably the contact with the folk-minded

Karl Storck Karl Storck (1826–1887) was a Grand Duchy of Hesse, Hessian-born Romanian sculptor and art theorist, the most prominent Romanian sculptor of his time. His sons Carol Storck (1854–1926) and Frederic Storck (1872–1924), were also noted art ...

, a musicologist, and the writer

Lulu von Strauss und Torney Lulu von Strauss und Torney (1873–1956) was a German poet and writer. Best remembered for her ballads, she also wrote historical fiction with rural settings in northwest Germany. Life Lulu von Strauss und Torney was born in 1873 in Bückeburg. S ...

.Nicolaus Schmidt, Arnis 1667–2017, Kiel 2017, S. 165 His most known work, a painting ''The Philosopher'', today is in

Schloss Gottorf Gottorf Castle (, , Low German: ''Slott Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and has been rebuilt and expanded several ...

Exhibition

* 2015: ''Verglühte Träume – Werke junger Künstler, Opfer des Ersten Weltkrieges'', Museumsberg Flensburg

Literature

* Dr. Friederike Weimar, Otto Soltau 1885 – 1915, in: Katalog zur Ausstellung ''Verglühte Träume'', Berlin 2014, S. 69 * Nicolaus Schmidt, Otto Soltau, in: Nicolaus Schmidt, ''Arnis 1667–2017'', Kiel 2017, S. 165f.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soltau, Otto 1885 births 1915 deaths German male painters German military personnel killed in World War I 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists People from Rendsburg