Werner Graeff (also Gräff; 24 August 24, 1901,

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

– 29 August 29, 1978,

Blacksburg, Virginia Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia T ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

sculptor, painter, graphic artist, photographer, film maker and inventor.

Career

In 1921 he started studying at 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., ...

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 ...

. Here he soon came under the influence of

Theo van Doesburg Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times. Personal life Theo van Do ...

, and participated in a meeting in Weimar in May 1922 where van Doesberg,

El Lissitzky El Lissitzky (, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky , ; – 30 December 1941), was a Soviet Jewish artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant-garde, h ...

and Hans Richter planned the intervention of the International Constructivist Faction at the

International Congress of Progressive Artists International Congress of Progressive Artists was organised by Young Rhineland (Junge Rheinland), with help from the November Group, the Darmstadt Secession and the Dresden Secession in Düsseldorf, 29-31 May 1922. The aim of creating an intern ...

held in

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 ...

, 29–31 May 1922.

''G: Material zur elementaren Gestaltung''

In 1923 he worked with Richter and Lissitzky on the production of '' G: Material zur elementaren Gestaltung'' (''G: Journal for Elementary Construction'').

Film work

In 1928 he co-wrote the film ''

Ghosts Before Breakfast ''Ghosts Before Breakfast'' () is a 1928 German dadaist animated short film directed by Hans Richter (artist), Hans Richter. It utilizes stop motion for some of its effects and live action for others. The film does not present a coherent narrat ...

'' with Hans Richter.

Sculpture

Two of Graeff's sculptures are on display at the (formerly the Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten) in

Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia Marl () is a town and a municipality in the Recklinghausen (district), district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Wesel-Datteln Canal, approx. 10 km north-west of Recklinghausen. It has about 90, ...

. Marl Graeff.JPG, Marlsku (1970-2) Marl Graeff 02.JPG, Polsku (1972) Marl Graeff 03.JPG, Polsku (detail)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graeff, Werner 1901 births 1978 deaths