Carl Thiemann (November 10, 1881 – December 3, 1966) was a Bohemian artist and member of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

, best known for his color woodcuts.

Life

Carl Theodor Thiemann was born in Carlsbad,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, which was then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

(it is today known as

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

and is in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). His father died when he was young, leaving the family in distressed circumstances; as a result, he initially went into trade rather than training as an artist. Eventually he was able to study at the Art Academy in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, first as a painter and later as a printmaker. He became interested in the Japanese technique of printing color

woodcuts 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 ...

using water-based inks, which was then a new technique in Austrian art circles. In 1904 he moved to Prague and set up a studio with the artist

Walther Klemm Walther Klemm (June 18, 1883 – August 11, 1957) was a German painter, printmaker, and illustrator. He was born in Karlsbad and studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the University of Vienna. In 1904 he exhibited with t ...

. In 1908, he and Klemm moved to the

Dachau art colony The Dachau Artists' Colony was located in Dachau, Germany, and flourished from around 1890 until 1914. History In the early 19th century, the then-bucolic village of Dachau (located just 12 miles from Munich) began attracting landscape painters. ...

, where he became a cofounder of the Dachau Artists' Association. Shortly thereafter, he married Louise Miéville, a Swiss language teacher. Their daughter Margarete also became a painter. Around 1910 he became a member of the Vienna Secession and the

Deutscher Künstlerbund The Deutscher Kuenstlerbund (Association of German Artists) was founded in 1903 the initiative of Count Harry Kessler, promoter of arts and artists, Alfred Lichtwark, director of the Hamburg Art Gallery and the famous painters Lovis Corinth, Ma ...

. He was widowed in 1957 and two years later he married a cousin, Ottilie Rady Thiemann-Stoedtner.

Art

Thiemann left an extensive oeuvre ranging from painting to all forms of printmaking. He is best known for his color woodblock prints of landscapes featuring trees (especially birch trees) and city streets, all rendered in a strongly graphic style with subtle coloration. His work was influenced by

Martha Cunz Martha Cunz (24 February 1876 – 15 May 1961) was a Swiss artist who is best known as a printmaker. As one of the earliest 20th-century European artists to master the modernist woodcut, she was influential on other artists. Education and trave ...

's woodcuts, and it has stylistic affinities with such artists as Ferdinand Mirwald and

Frances Gearhart Frances Gearhart (January 4, 1869 – April 4, 1959) was an American printmaker and watercolorist known for her boldly drawn and colored woodcut and linocut prints of American landscapes. Focused especially on California's coasts and mountains, th ...

. He won a number of awards, including the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

and the Golden Ring of Honor of the City of Dachau (1966). A street in Dachau is named after him.

References

Sources

This page is translated from :de:Carl Thiemann. Sources listed on that page include: * Thiemann, Carl. ''Erinnerungen eines Dachauer Malers''. Dachau, n.d. * Merx, Klaus. ''Carl Thiemann 1881-1966. Meister des Farbholzschnitts''. Darmstadt, 1976. * Thiemann-Stoedtner, Ottilie. ''Carl Thiemann: Der Mensch - der Künstler''. Dachau, 1978. * Thiemann-Stoedtner, Ottilie. ''Dachauer Maler: Der Künstlerort Dachau von 1801 bis 1946''. Dachau, 1981. * Göttler, Norbert. ''Sie machten Geschichte im Dachauer Land''. Dachau, 1989. * Reitmeier, Lorenz Josef. ''Dachau: Der berühmte Malerort''. Dachau, n.d. * Klemm, Walther, and Carl Thiemann. ''Zwei Meister des Farbholzschnitts''. Dachau, 2016. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiemann, Carl 1881 births 1966 deaths People from Karlovy Vary Austrian painters Members of the Vienna Secession Austrian printmakers Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Artists from Austria-Hungary Expatriates from Austria-Hungary in Germany