Philipp Georg Braumüller: husband of Margarethe Havemann

Braumüller, Philip Georg

(Hohenlohehütte 16-09-1870 – 1927)

painter, printmaker and books illustrator. 

and was married to Margarethe Havemann in before posting. His birth place Hohenlohehütte, now Katowice, in Silesia in the South of what is now Poland. 

I found this nice painting of the Isle of Rügen with its iconic cretaceous cliff coast. Observing it having a closer look at his wife's woodblock print "Herbst" convinced me this print was also designed in Rügen and they worked together in this beautiful location, possibly spending their holiday. 

Closeby were the Hiddensee and not far away the Ahrenshoop artist colonies. In summer these wonderful locations and Dover-like Cliffs would have attracted hords of painters. Kandinsky (1866-1944) was here, Eugen Bracht (1842-1921 and Paul Emil Gabel (1875-1938) who painted the Island on several locations (above)   

Allee in Puttbus on Rügen  

My favorite Braumüller painting is this "Allee in Puttbus" painted in soft light in the tradition of "Berlin Impressionismus" and in my humble opinion matching the examples of the Grand Avenues and Tiergarten in Berlin depicted by Liebermann, Ury and Hübner. 

The painter Braumüller in auctions is both mentioned as Philipp Br. or George Br. Sometimes these names are combined indicating he is not that well known today. 

"Runkel and der Lahn"

A family chronicle stating he was born the son of an army general but a disability kept him from a military career. Instead he started his career as gardener in Breslau, some 100 miles to the West from Katowice, then moved to the centre of Germany to study in Kassel Art Academy, and also in the “Kunstschule” in Weimar. He also studied in the painting school of Friedrich Fehr (1862-1927) in Munich and with printmaker Ernst Neumann (1871-1954). He created posters ("Plakatkünstler") with woodblocks and lithography. 

He was wel known for his woodblock portraits of contemporary Munich celebrities like Max Petzold(*), composer Max Reger (1873-1916), theatre director and playwright Otto Falckenberg (1873-1947) and poet Martin Greif (1839-1911). But I was only able to find Falckenbergs (below)

He was a member of the “Graphischen Vereinigung Münchener Künstler”. and exhibited, like and possibly with his wife Margarethe, in the Glaspalast in Munich 1900-1906, in Düsseldorf 1907 and in Wiesbaden 1909.

Painting by Georg Braumuller and photograph of Berlins "Ballon Platz"  

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(*) Petzold, Max (1852-1896), the son of famous international and royal (imperial) landscape architect Eduard Petzold (1815-1891) became like his father a German gardener, garden architect and designer. He was also a painter like Braumüller (below), maybe Braumüller taught his former colleague. 

Petzold worked for some time (1880) with Elvaston Nurseries (above Elvaston Castle and Gardens) near Derby in England. Maybe Braumuller visited his friend  explaining his interest and painting of British historic steam-engine “the Rocket”. Petzold later (1882-1883) crossed the Atlantic and worked in the Central Cemetery* in Cincinnati, Ohio. He then moved to Brasil.
*Probably: Spring Grove Cemetery and arboretum which was designed combining British   landscape design with Paris Père Lachaise cemetery lay-out, by garden architect Adolph Strauch a colleague of his father Eduard. The Braumuller, Petzold and Strauch families originated roughly  from the same region and maybe are a clue and indication for these contacts and ties decades later.  

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

Please send any pictures of other paintings or portraits by Georg Braumuller. 

Margarethe Braumüller-Havemann: from Grabow in county Mecklenburg

Braumüller-Havemann, Margarethe

(Grabow/Mecklenburg 1877 -  died c.1955)

Painter, sculptor and printmaker.  

"Cloth Line"  

This rather well known print by rather unknown Margarethe Havemann  ("Flatterende Windeln") printed and published in 1905 by Seemann for Leipzig art revue "Zeitschrift fur Bildende Kunst" probably made Margarethe, still in het twenties, instantly famous. She was among Germany's pioneering printmakers and although I have no idea about edition numbers it turns up so every now and then in Ebay. 

Listen here*  to an unknown Cloth Line Ballet: one of my favorite Fats Waller (1904-1943) original compositions. He too was inspired by cloth fluttering in the winds: childhood memories ?  

Grabow in Margarethe's time, the village and Havemann residence (left)  

Margarethe was one of 6(*) surviving children of well to do Friedrich (Fritz) Wilhelm Heinrich Havemann, owner of an international seed business in Grabow in county Mecklenburg, a small trading village situated and connected by road, river, canal and train roughly between Hamburg and Berlin, and Therese Marie Lautrup who originated from Flensburg in Denmark.  

Besides this supplement edition print a handful of illustration-like (calendar ?) prints by her hand turn up regularly. One of them shows the old centre of Hamburg, a view well familiar because the "Alsterfleet" impression by Hugo Amberg (one bridge up) appeared not so long ago in this Blog (follow the label below). Working and living in Hamburg the Braumüller and the Amberg couples will probably have been acquainted. 

"Alsterfleet" woodblock by Hugo Amberg

She had studied with painter, printmaker Ernst Neumann (1871-1954) in Münich and was married to painter and printmaker Philipp Georg Braumüller (1870-1927). The couple  moved to and worked in Berlin (1905) and later moved to Hamburg where Margarethe was appointed teacher in the “Kunstgewerbeschule für Mädchen” in Hamburg in 1909. 

She exhibited, like and possibly with her husband between 1900-1908, in the Münich “Glaspalast”, in Berlin (“Große Berliner Kunstausstellung”) and in Bremen in 1906. She worked for the Magazine “Licht und Schatten” and was a close friend of Ida Demel (1870-1942). With her she co-founded the “Bundes Hamburger Künstlerinnen und Kunstfreundinnen”. Her subjects were landscape, cityscapes of Hamburg and Berlin. Her work is collected in the graphic collection of the Folkwang-Museum in Essen.

The most interesting print by Margarethe however is this "Herbst" (Fall). Although it is probably also a view of something else. I will show in next posting.

(*) Margarethe, Hedwig, Fritz (died 1907), Otto (died 1914), Robert, Richard and Hans 
  

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She was a sister of Richard Havemann (1875-1943) a famous trainer of wild animals. He started his career as an animal care-taker in Berlin Tiergarten Zoo. There he developed a show with big cats he often raised with a bottle from birth but eventually this show was judged "not appropriate" by the ZOO direction. It is good to hear ethics and thoughts about animal welfare are not exclusively from "our days". 

Havemann then bought the animals, travelled all over Europe and the USA, with his act, witnessed the San Francisco earth quake in 1906, lost many of his animals, returned to Germany and joined Hagenbeck's Circus with his act. Eventually, obviously he did not retire, his luck ran out and he was killed by his act: he was attacked by a bear he’d raised and trained as a cub and died, aged 68, from his injuries.
  

She was also sister of Hans Havemann (1887-1985) an influential teacher and writer who was the father of dissident and partisan and head of Berlin Humboldt University Physical Chemistry Department Robert Havemann (1910–1982).

Her sister Hedwig (b.1882) was a children's book writer and was married to poet Albert Sergel (1876-1949). They lived and worked in Berlin. Sadly Albert later turned sympathetic towards national socialist ideas.  

I found a book by the Sergels illustrated by Germany's famous children book illustrator Else Wenz-Vietor (1882-1973). She was one of the first women illustrators who could make a living from her work. Sadly her work today is often "related" with the national socialist world. She claimed artistically being inspired by British illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).    

Margarethes husband Georg Braumüller is interesting enough to have his own posting which will follow next.  

Margarethe is possibly related to (a niece of) printmaker Antonie Ritzerow (Grabow 1877 - ?) but that is still under investigation and will be revealed in due time. 

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

Emmy Gotzmann: first result & great find !

Emmy Gotzmann

(1881 - ?)

U-Bahnhof Bülowstrasse, Berlin 
(seen in the direction of Nollendorfplatz, next station)

U-Bahnhof Bülowstraße today.

The revealing of this painting is the result of using the immense possibilities of a friendly Internet. Combining knowledge, effort and research I'm really happy to show the world this wonderful painting that has not been seen, admired or enjoyed for so long. 

(Bülow station see in the direction of Nollendorfplatz, next station)

From Emmy's viewpoint side of the street looking towards the left: Luthers Kirche. Looking right would give the exact view on Bülow station and Potsdamerstraße crossing. This view before the line was raised, the station build and a passage was created through the wall of houses. 

And after raising the line and creating a passage. Around 1905   

This posting is also an announcement and a welcome to Emmy Gotzmann's biography that will appear later this year in honor of the obscured life and career of this wonderful and neglected painter. Who knows what other great paintings will be revealed. It's publication will be announced in this Blog. 

The newly build Bülow station, the front is situated along Potsdamersträße.   

This station is one of three rather famous stops in Berlins basic first "Hochbahn" line build in the late 1890's and opened in 1902. 

Between the Luthers Kirche and Berlin-Zoo/Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church  completed in 1906 on Auguste-Viktoriaplatz and Kurfürstendamm): Wittenbergplatz, Nollendorfplatz (with "Kaufhaus des Westens" founded in 1905) and Bülowstraße crossing Potsdamerstraße. The iconic station buildings were destroyed, like anything else, in the allied bombing in the last year of WW2. However, Bülow Bahnhof was rebuild.

Emmy must have taken the Godfather of Impressionists Camille Pissarro's (1830-1903) 1897 depictions of Boulevard Montmartre with high viewpoint and  diagonal compositions in mind. Pissarro was exhibited in Berlin with 40 paintings in Kunstsalon Cassirer in 1907 in nearby Victoriastraße 35 (along with 4 works by my research subject Fanny Remak by the way).

Lovis Corinth: Berlin, "Unter den Linden" and the Brandenburger Tor (were the Liebermanns owned a city palace).

 

Max Slevogt: "Unter den Linden". 

Berlin Seccesionist Lovis Corinth (1858-1925) and Max Slevogt (1868-1932), with Max Liebermann (1847-1935) the three leading Berlin impressionists, likewise choose the high viewpoint and diagonal composition in their "Unter den Linden". And maybe Slevogt had the greatest of impressionists in mind: Claude Monet's Rue de Montorgueil from 1878 (left) 
  

Lesser Leo Ury

(Nollendorf Station)

Emmy's painting is all the more important because there are so few examples of Berlin street views in painting. Let alone of the U-bahn, build after the example of New Yorks above-ground system. That is besides the paintings by a painter who was always to stand in the shadows of this trio: Leo Lesser Ury (1861-1931) owned a studio at Nollendorfplatz(1) and he just had to look outside to paint in the rainy atmosphere that is so characteristic for much of his work.

(1) The name of Ury's neighbor George Cormon (a Berlin seccessionist) keeps popping up in many artists biographies. Cormon, a painter of flowers, also taught and ran a painting school. 
   

Thank you Hartwig D.(2) and author Ferdinand Ruigrok van de Werve ! 

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

(2) to the protection of the owner of the painting.