Wilhelm Teuwen (16 August 1908 – 21 August 1967) was a German artist best known for his

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

work.

Biography

Teuwen was born on 16 August 1908 in Anrath and since 1923 studied at the art school in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

. After graduation in 1929, he enrolled to

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 ...

. He studied there with Heinrich Campendonk and, after in 1933 Campendonk has been fired by the Nazis, with Heinrich Nauen, graduating in 1934. In Krefeld, he also met

Johan Thorn Prikker Johan Thorn Prikker (6 June 1868, The Hague - 5 March 1932, Cologne) was a Dutch artist who worked in Germany after 1904. His activities were very eclectic, including architecture, lithography, furniture, stained-glass windows, mosaics, tapestrie ...

, one of the pioneers of the modern stain glass, and this had an important influence on Teuwen's art. In the end of the 1920s, the main medium used by Teuwen was

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

, and he made prints in the style of German

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

, but then he moved to stained glass. In 1932, he made his first big stain glass, the memorial to the fallen soldiers in World War I in

Uedem Uedem is a municipality in the district of Cleves, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands. Division of the town Uedem consists of 4 districts * Uedem * Uedemerfeld * Keppeln * Uedemerbruch Histor ...

. Since 1933, with Hitler in power, Teuwen's art was not explicitly prohibited, however, the Nazis did not appreciate the style, and he has been excluded from the official art processes on many occasions. In 1937, he carried out the projects for the St. Remigius Church in Wittlaer and the Holy Cross Chapel in Vennheide. In 1940, Teuwen was drafted to the military service and participated in World War II in France, Russia, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. He ended up as a prisoner of war and was released by the Americans in 1945. In November 1946, Teuwen was asked to join the faculty of 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 ...

, and till 1967 he taught there classes of stained glass. At the same time, he got many orders to replace glass windows in the Lowe Rhine area which were destroyed during World War II, both in churches and in civil buildings. In particular, he designed windows for

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

and

St. Gereon's Basilica St. Gereon's Basilica (''Basilika Sankt Gereon'') is a German Roman Catholic church in Cologne, dedicated to Saint Gereon, and designated a minor basilica on 25 June 1920. In the core of St. Gereon, significant remains of an oval central build ...

, as well as for the Church of St. Elisabeth in Essen-Frohnhausen. In the 1950s, Teuwen, still busy with stained glass, returned to painting and woodcut. His work of this decade demonstrates increasing influence of Italian Renaissance, most notably

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

. In 1957, his first personal exhibition was held in Clemens-Sels-Museum in

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

. Wilhelm Teuwen died on 21 August 1967 in Cologne.

Legacy

In 2004, the city of

Viersen Viersen (; ) is the capital of the Viersen (district), district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of Mönchengladbach, 15 km south-west of Krefeld and 20 km ...

named a street (Wilhelm-Teuwen-Straße) after Wilhelm Teuwen. There is also a street with this name in

Willich Willich () is a town in the district of Viersen (district), Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is 20 km west of Düsseldorf, 14 km north of Mönchengladbach, 10 km south of Krefeld, about 30 kilometres east of Germany–Netherlands b ...

, the city Anrath was merged in.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teuwen, Wilhelm 1908 births 1967 deaths People from Willich 20th-century German male artists German stained glass artists and manufacturers