Fanny Remak, Part I: Who was she ?

How can one even try to describe or write about an artist not knowing a single work of art she's ever produced ? In my research concerning the first generation of German women printmakers busy with color woodblock printmaking there're a few artist I just happen to know by one or two works. Fanny, however, is a mystery, a complete blank. So, in my ongoing research, here's all I have on her: my first posting without any examples to share. But it's all I have and was able to find about her life and family. Please help me to do her honor and give her the place in printmaking history she deserves. The biography I composed is followed by the genealogy I tried  to reconstruct with data harvested from the Internet: Blessed is the Internet for friendly purposes. Her life and world destroyed, her brother murdered and what was left of her family emigrated and found shelter  in a neighboring friendly country. 

As often before learning about artistic woman born in the 19th century she was of bourgeois, intellectual (industrial, influential, rich, medical and/or self-made) background. 

Remak, Fanny

(Berlin 1883 – 1970 London)

Painter, graphic artist (landscape, portrait and city views), teacher at Cambridge University. The second daughter of Jewish neurologist prof. Ernst Julius Remak (1849-1911) and Martha Hahn. Granddaughter of embryologist and first Jewish professor ever in Prussia Robert Remak (1815-1865). She was named after her great-grandmother Fanny (Franzeska) Wallach who probably was still alive in 1883 or had recently died). Studied in the “Zeichen und Malschule“ of the VdBK in Berlin with Ulrich Hübner (1872-1932) (below)

and 1912-1913in the studio of flower painter George Mosson (1851-1933) also in Berlin (below)

Then continued her studies in the “Académie Moderne” in Paris with Charles Guerin (1875-1939) (below)

and with Maurice Denis (1870-1943) (below),

one of the "Nabis" or "Wild Ones" and also in the “Academie Paul Ranson (1862-1909) in existence 1908-1944. In 1914 she is living as a student in the “Staatliche Kunstgewerbeschule” in Munich.  

Member of the “Freien Sucession” 1921 in Berlin. Permitted to teach painting and drawing in 1931. Board member of the “Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen” (VdBK) 1930-33. In 1933 she was banned from working as a Jewish artist (“Berufsverbot”). Emigrated to England (London) in 1939. Her sisters Feodore’s family already escaped in 1935. On her leave all she possessed was seized in Hamburg harbour and auctioned. She taught painting and drawing 1944-1950 in Cambridge. She was a close friend of Käte Munzer-Neumann (1877-1959) also a Jewish artist and likewise forgotten (below). 

Her brother Robert Remak (1888-1942) an awarded and famous German mathematician decided against odds to stay, defy the Nazi's and try to safe the family fortune and status. He was seized and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1942. 

Fanny exhibited in the “Grosse Berliner Kunstaustellung”, in the VdBK 1927-30, and in the “Freie Secession” and was a member of the VdBK 1913-1934. Boardmember 1927-1933 (with other printmakers like Elisabeth von Oertzen, Julie Wolfthorn, Hélène Mass, L.E.M. Gerhardt, Auguste Lind-Graf, Marie Isenbart, Elisabeth Consentius and Augusta von Zitsewitz). She was chairwoman of the VdBK 1928-1933.

GENEALOGY 

1a) Fanny Remak 

her brother and sister

-------------------------

1b      Remak, Dr. Robert (Berlin 14-02-1888 – 13-11-1942 Auschwitz), a mathematician.

1c     Remak, Feodore (Berlin 1881-1967 London) x Dr. Siegfried Litthauer (1869-1935 Berlin) their children: Litthauer, Ernst Karl, (Berlin 17-06-1916-1997 Warwickshire) partner of Erna Low (British travel business)

 and  Litthauer, Prof. Dr. Hildegard Theresa  (Berlin 20-02-1918 – 15-03-1989 London) married 1940 Dr. Fred Himmelweit (d.1977 a virologist and director of virus research in St. Mary’s hospital in London.

           She was send to study in England escaping the Nazi’s in 1934. They had a daughter Susuan 

1d) Remak, Georg (Berlin 1890-1979 Munich) who was a Prussian and German gouvernement official and high court judge. 

Fanny's parents

--------------------------

2     Remak,  Prof. Dr. Ernst Julius (Berlin 26-05-1849 – 24-05-1911 Wiesbaden), prof. (1893)  neurology in Berlin, married: 

3      Hahn, Martha (Berlin 1857-1932 Berlin)

Her grand-parents
----------------------

4   Remak, Prof. Dr. Robert  (26-07-1815 – 29-08-1865) Polish/Prussian embryologist, neurologist (1828-1863), first Jewish Prussian professor, married 08-07-1848

5       Meyer, Feodore (1828-1863), their children:

                       - Ernst Julius (follows)

                       - (+ another son)

6       Hahn, Albert (Breslau 18-12-1824 – 10-02-1898 Berlin), selfmade industrialist building an  international imperium of pipe manufacturing and artificial wool (with Russia) married Berlin 1854

7       Rosenthal, Therese (1831-1912) their children (4 sons and 3 daughters):

- Oskar, (1860-1907), lawyer, industrialist in the firm of his father married Charlotte Landau, (1865-1934)

- Martin, (1865-1934) Prof. Hygiene, Microbiologist.

- Georg, (1864-1953) dir. Hänschen Werke. 
- Gertrud (1866-1954), married Kurt Hensel (1861-1941) Prof. mathematics

- Johannes (Hans)
- Fanny

          - Martha (follows)

her great-grand-parents

--------------------------

  8       Remak, Salomon Meyer, merchant in Posen (Poznan) Poland, married 

  9       Caro, Frederieke 

             Their children: Robert (1815-1865) follows, Gustavus (d.1886), Stefan (d.1889), Stanislas (d.1910), Henriete (married Adolf Loewenfeld)

10    Meyer, Eli Joachim (1783-1849),  merchant from Körlin (Coerlin), privat Berlin banker), married 

11       Abraham, Betty (Driessen 1888 – 1839 Berlin)

                    Their children: Abraham 1810-1881, Friedrich 1820-1881, Rosalie, Feodore (1828-1863) follows.

12      Elcan, Meyer (Martin) (1785-1854) Goldsmith in Neisse/Paris and Barmen, later merchant in Kassel and Breslau, married 

13      Hünern, Johanna (1792-1829)

14      Rosenthal, Isaac Samuel (1800-1860) cotton manufactor/merchant, married 

15      Wallach, Fanny 

great-great Grand-parents

--------------------------------------

20       Meyer, Joachim

24       Elcanan, Marcus (1755-1808) leather merchant and freight-trader in Glogau married:

25       Abraham, Gittel

26       Hünern, Hirsch genannt Jungmann  married:

27       Gotheiner, Reche

30       Wallach, David Moses (Dietrich Moritz) merchant in Berlin

All pictures and data borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.     

Hans Förster, another pioneer and true Orlik student

Förster, Hans

(Hamburg 09-02-1885 – 1966 Hamburg)

Graphic artist, illustrator, author and 
pioneer woodblock printmaker, 
Emil Orlik student. 

He was the son of Hamburg painter and graphic artist Christian Förster (1825–1902). A student in the “Kunstgewerbeschule” in Hamburg 1902-1904 he  was encouraged by its director Justus Brinckmann (1843-1915) known for his collections and books on Japanese art and woodblock prints to study further in  Berlin with Emil Orlik (1870-1932) in 1905-1906. Orlik since 1904/05 taught "Technic und Stil des Japanischen Farbholzschnitts" in Berlin's “Unterrichtsanstalt" of the "Kunstgewerbemuseum”. 

So far I was able to collect the names and (short)biographies of some 100 Orlik students, Förster was among his first students. 

Hans Förster is mostly known for his large woodcuts depicting local fisherman and working class people around Hamburg, his native and rural Vierlände area and the isle of Finkenwerder just opposite. It is recalled and described in detail how he stayed faithful to and followed the Japanese printing method he’d learned from Orlik. 

His best prints were created until the end of WW1 and he must have known and been inspired by the Brittany prints by Emil Orliks friend (and student) Carl Moser (1872-1939) who created his prints from around 1905 and also the pioneering prints by Henri Rivière (1864-1951). Rivière's experiments  preceded Orlik's endeavors in the noble art as early as 1890: without visiting Japan. (More to follow soon).  

On Finkenwerder was a small artist colony visited by famous painters like impressionists Thomas Herbst (1848-1915) and Friedrich Schaper (1869-1956) and marine painter and Berlin professor Carl Saltzmann (1847-1923), professor Eduard Steinbach (1878-1939) and his wife printmaker Louise Steinbach-Weinholdt (1879-1971) worked and lived on the Island from 1901-1916 and Gretchen Wohlwill (1878-1962), also working on the isle of Finkenwerder. Wohlwill was a close friend of painter and printmaker Eduard Bargheer (1901-1979) who was born on the island.

Förster wrote many books on “Plattdeutsch” the local dialect, and also illustrating them. It is said he lead the life of a neglected artist and an eccentric. He would have died in poverty and obscurity in an old peoples home was it not for a small allowance he received in return of a bequest of 100 woodblock prints left to the Altona Museum in Hamburg. An exhibition with his work was held in the Hamburgische Landesbank in 1978/79. His prints, when on the market, today fetching high prices. 

Hans Förster is buried in  Neuengamme-Vierlände cemetery near Hamburg next to painter Hermann Haasse (1862-1936) who from 1895 was a teacher at drawing in Brinckmann's  “Kunstgewerbeschule” and probably had been, besides a local colleague, his friend and teacher.

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

(und danke Markus !)

NOID: Help of readers requested

These dated 1931 prints are not wood or linocut prints but monotype prints. A technique used to pull a printed (reversed) version from a painting on a plate. These are usually "one-offs" but sometimes a second "state" impression is pulled with the remaining paint or ink. Some great artist tried at monotype printmaking and the results are often surprising. 

I ask readers to help identify the artist signature on request of blogreader Tom. I keep reading Art(Wil, Celt ?) Subenik but that did not lead to a solution. 

Here as two great examples of monotypes by impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917) I found along my quest:

So, the bad news is my New Years endeavors failed so far but I am confident combining the  readers of my Blog will reveal the artist in the end. The good knows is the search brought me to the Lithuanian Vilnius Jewish Ghetto where I found an artist today so obscured I could not even trace a single work of art created by her. She will appear in next my posting.    

Frieda Mentz-Kessel: Successful identification in 2014 and Best Wishes for 2015

A happy New Year &

Best Wishes for 2015 !

Thanks to reader Archimandrill this identification problem of a print commemorating a 25th anniversary in what looks like (or could be) a circus tent print is solved. It is by Frieda Mentz-Kessel (Graz, Austria 1878 -1969 Jena) she was working as a linocut printmaker in Jena (near Weimar). There's not much to be revealed in the Internet about her life or work. She was married to history professor Georg Hugo Mentz (1870-1942) and exhibiting in the 1930's wilt fellow women artists in the "Jena Kunstlerinnen Verein" announcements found in newspaper and she was actively involved in the Womens Rights Movement.

Among them I found Dachau painter and printmaker Paula Wimmer (1876-1971). Besides her bathing boys (a theme after Max Liebermann) she is best remembered by her prints that are often also located in a circus tent. I will show more of her work soon. 

Frieda's print was in an auction and, when it was sold, the Internet connections obviously were deleted. I just was lucky to stumble over it in this short window of opportunity. 

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet fro friendly, educational and non commercial use only.     

NOID: Identification of prints.

During Christmass time I can see Blog visits rising, and now having the extra attention this is a fine opportunity to ask readers and visitors to help identify some printmakers and solve some puzzles.

To start with: I've found this picture of a very nice woodblock print somewhere in the Internet, safed it but so far was unable to find it again. The signature could read F. Mentz Kaßsel. But I have never found a printmaker by that name. It seems to me a 25 year anniversary of some kind (a choir singing). 

Same goes for these two Internet found "said to be Russian" (are they ?) wintery and snowy prints. They are (very) reminding of Paul Leschorn's (1876-1951) speciality (below). And I don't know if they are by the same printmaker.

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

    

  

Elbe seen from Blankenese and Mount Sullberg

Hamburg and River Elbe

some paintings and views  

In before posting Hamburg and the Elbe river from Finkenwerder Island were shown because of Louise Steinbach-Weinholdts reprinted woodblock view. Today we look at river Elbe from the opposite bank.  

The village of Blankenese was formed around and below ice-age formed mount Süllberg. It was originally a fishing community, later sea going captains retired here in the twentieth century followed by wealthy Hamburg merchants, artists  and well-to-do people settled here. It is now a very beautiful place, renowned for its wonderful views, grand villas and estates, its restaurants, river beaches and holiday and weekend lea sure 
   

And of course a place visited by hords of painters and other artists trying to capture what indeed is one of the worlds great panorama's. Below is a painting by an anonymous painter, sold in a German Auction site not long ago, hard to believe the artist is unknown: it's my favorite !

Here are some more by known (Hamburg) painters, a personal choice, from many more examples. 

1: Facing upstream from Blankenese.

Claus Richters (1813-1994)

     

Albert Feser (1901-1993)

Albert Feser (1901-1993)

    2 Facing downstream from Blankenese:


Ernst Eitner (1867-1955) 

Friedrich Kallmorgen (1856-1926) 

Ivo Hauptmann (1886-1973) 

Hans Porwoll (1898-1984)

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.

All pictures are mouse-clickable to embiggen.