Miss Rosa Paul: a forgotten Martha Cunz student

Thanks to reader Wolfgang I was informed about an exhibition held in Sankt-Gallen (Sw.) "Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum" (historical and ethnographic museum): "Faszination Farbholzschnitt" around St. Gallen's most famous woodcut artist Martha Cunz. It runs until march 2017 and there's a catalogue raisonné on her work published by it's enthousiast director and author Dr. Daniel Studer.  

Martha Cunz (1876-1961) is known to have been a teacher to many printmaking artists, and in the exhibition there are 4 examples of prints by one particularly talented student: "Fraulein R. Paul". 

Schweinfurt, Roßmarkt by Rosa Paul.  

Miss Paul visited to study with Martha Cunz in St. Gallen in 1908 and in 1909 and left these 4 examples of her efforts in the collections and archives of her teacher. I've never seen any prints by her on the market and she is not mentioned in any of the artists lexicons: she seems to have disappeared from the records after 1909.

Weißkohl Markt (after 1907 !) 

But I had a hunch the market scene may be a clue to where miss Paul originated from. Wolfgang suggested "somewhere North of the Alps" so possibly Bavaria (Bayern) ? The very specific watchtower ("Wachturm") and market ("Marktplatz") might be one day recognized by an attentive reader, he suggested. 

Roßmarkt, Rosa Paul may have lived in one of these houses. In the background the fire watch

Looking down from the Fire Watch Tower towards Roßmarkt 

The truth is this wonderful medieval scene (the watch tower  actually is the "Feuerwehrturm" (fire watch) build or renewed in 1907 so shortly before she travelled to Martha Cunz Switzerland) was destroyed by allied bombing: it is Roßmarkt in Schweinfurt on river Main, right in the heart of Germany, 60 km, east of Frankfurt. The damaged watch was demolished in the 1950's.

Rosa Paul is mentioned (M. "Malerin" - painter) living Roßmarkt 1 in my copies of Dresslers Kunsthandbuch 1921 and 1930. But she's left no traces in the Internet nor  in any artist lexicon. Food for local historians, but a new name in my "German Women Printmakers Lexicon".    

Turkeys, (Truthahn) by Rosa Paul 

and by Cläre Neuhaus (1882 - 1932?) and Walter Klemm

Since Rosa Paul's prints are true examples of "early" printmaking (before 1910 when Orlik was busy teaching in Berlin, Klemm and Thiemann in Dachau and Martha Cunz in Sankt Gallen) I'll show them with some examples by other early printmaking icons.  

Rosa Paul 

Duck prints by Helene Grande-Tüpke (1871-1946) 

Spring meadow: Rosa Paul 

 Hedwig Matthiessen (1879- after 1930).

Please send information concerning miss Rosa Paul (apparently she stayed unmarried) living and working in Schweinfurt (1910-1930). All new information on this unknown artist will be shared in this Blog. Research "on the spot" is already promised.........  

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

Prints by Rosa Paul shown thanks to Wolfgang Barina in Frankfurt who took photographs at the exhibition in St-Gallen this week. 
Courtesy ("mit Genehmigung") of Dr. Daniel Studer, St.Gallen.  

Hedwig Matthiessen: new finds

Until recently Berlin printmaker Hedwig Matthiessen (1878 - after 1921) wasn't even represented in my archive of some 200 German women printmakers pioneering with color woodblock printmaking in the beginning of the XXth century. Summing up what I was able to find about her resulted in the Blog article only three weeks ago: here. After today four examples of her work are behind her name.  

Last week another print surfaced, leading to a rather unexpected and pleasant identification of a print in my archive of yet unidentified pictures of prints. It had an illegibly faded signature. It shows unmistakably the same location, same path and row of birches.  And besides, the date mentioned on this last print gives us a time-line: 1915. Located in Berlin who other then Emil Orlik could have taught her this type of printmaking.       

Whoever owns this last print with the spring Goddess (I think I saw it in Ebay long time ago) is requested to send me a good photographic copy. Considerations of swapping the original will be met with generous enthusiasm. 

These pictures were also added to the recent biography article on Hedwig Matthiessen. 

Mattiessen, Hedwig G.

Matthiesen, Hedwig G. 

(Rostock 12-10-1878 – after 1921 possibly in Berlin)

Painter and printmaker.   

Daughter of professor of physiology and zoology in Rostock University Ludwig G. Matthiessen (Fissau near Eutin 22-09-1830 – 1906 Rostock) and Paulina Augusta Emilie Meyer (Kiel 12-02-1841 - ?).  

The couple had 9 children of which Hedwig was the before last and of which 5 died before reaching full adulthood.  Hedwig worked and lived in Berlin. She was a member of the VdBK ("Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen") in Berlin 1912-1916. I wonder where she studied. 

Dressler’s Kunsthandbuch 1921 mentions :  living Berlin W.50 Charlottenburg, Augsburgstrasse 23 (Grth).

This is the meager biography of Hedwig in my German Women Printmakers Index, there’s simpley nothing more to rely on in the Internet. And there are just these two prints, a woodblock print (can one deny ?) with such strong resemblances to Eva Maria Marcus’ (1889-1970) blossoming fruit trees print proof of her artistic existence:

And secondly there's this lithographic print by her hand which is very reminding of similar summer garden compositions by printmaker Helene Mass (b. 1871 - ?) who actually taught “Farbholzschnitt” in the VdBK’s school of drawing in Berlin most probably herself a student of Emil Orlik (1870-1932).   

and by Helene Isenbart (1864- in or after 1927) this last example: nr. 1 on my wish list. There's no doubt these women artists living in Berlin met or at least had knowledge of their artistic sisters creative output and ideas.    

Please help and send pictures and information of other works by or biographical details of Hedwig Matthiessen.  

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These two new finds were  added to this article (31-10-2015) 

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