Hans Reissinger: Berndt student in Bayreuth

These two prints of the park and palaces of the "Eremitage" in Bavarian Bayreuth surfaced in German eBay last week. Once the seat of dukes and princes it was also the hometown of composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).

It is not hard to recognize who might have taught the architect Hans Reissinger the principles of printmaking. Just compare the pictures of prints in this posting (that were shown before) of Siegfried Berndt,  himself, and two other students. It is funny to see Reissinger, who must have been a good drawer of buildings, printed his "Markgrafbrunnen" mirrored because I had to mirror this contemporary photograph to match it up.  

Reissinger, Hans Carl 

(Bayreuth 10-04-1890 – 23-11-1972 Bayreuth)

Painter, architect and printmaker, (also Reisigner, with one s). Studied 1908-1912 in Munich “Technischen Hochschule” with painter and architect Friedrich von Thiersch (1852-1921), architect Theodor Fischer (1862-1938) and Karl Hocheder who was president of the High Court in Leipzig. Worked 1912-14 as assistant of architect German Bestelmeyer (1874-1942) in Dresden. Bestelmeyer succceeded von Thiersch in 1922 and acted as president of the “Akademie fur Bildende Künste” 1924-1942 organising an exhibition of popular Norwegian painter, drawer and caricaturist Olaf Gulbranson (1873-1958), (below).

  

After graduating in 1918 he settled in Bayreuth and worked as “Stadtbaurat” (chief cityplanner) 1927-1929 in Düsseldorf. He became a member of the NSDAP in 1934 and was promoted by the Nazi mayor as the cities overall planner also arranging the funeral of Hans Schemm an important Bavarian Nazi, attended by Adolf Hitler and all high ranking party members. During the Nazi period he build several buildings and monumens in Bayreuth. After WW2 he designed the stage for Wagners opera “der Meistersinger” after the “Bayreuth Festspiele” were continued and was involved designing many memorials and monuments and restauration of the many historic buildings in Bayreuth.

Dresslers KHB 1930 (Reisinger): M(aler), A(architect), Bayreuth, Richard Wagenerstrasse 39.
     

Steps of Pilnitz Palace near Dresden.

Examining Reis(s)ingers prints there's no doubt he was a Siegfriedt Berndt (1880-1946) apprentice possibly during his stay in Dresde. The two prints showing the “Eremitage” palace and the “Markgrafenbrunnen” in Bayreuth, buildings he took actively part in restoring  . They surfaced in German Ebay august 2016.

Dresden, Zwinger palace,  by Haine Rath(1873-1920)

Dresden by Bertha Schrader. (1845-1920) 

These prints by Heine Rath (1873-1920) and Bertha Schrader (1845-1920) are very similar in execution and sparse use of paint and color. Both artists died in 1920 which, with the years from Reissinger's stay in Dresden this gives us a nice clue dating these prints. Bertha Schrader, as an accomplished and successful painter must have tried at woodblock printmaking late(r) in life because she is the earliest born (German female) artist in my printmakers research. She will have met Berndt in Dresden. Berndt studied in Dresden 1899-1906 while Rath taught there at the Academy 1901-1919, from 1903 as a professor. 

Follow the labels in this posting for further reading.

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