Elisabeth Noltenius (24 January 1888 - 22 February 1964) was a German painter.

Biography

Noltenius was born on 24 January 1888 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Germany. She first studied etching with

Hans am Ende Hans am Ende (31 December 1864, Trier – 9 July 1918, Stettin) was a German Impressionism, Impressionist painter. In 1889 he co-founded the artists' colony in Worpswede with Fritz Overbeck, Otto Modersohn, and Heinrich Vogeler. In 1895 this g ...

and sculpture with

Clara Westhoff Clara Westhoff (21 September 1878 in Bremen – 9 March 1954 in Fischerhude), also known as ''Clara Rilke'' or ''Clara Rilke-Westhoff'' was a pioneer German sculptor and artist. She was the wife of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Early life At 17, W ...

. In 1911 she went to Munich to attend the ''Damenakademie'' (Ladies’ Academy). After the deaths of her brothers, sister, father, and fiancé during the years of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Noltenius settled back in Bremen to support herself and her mother. For a time she had a studio in nearby

Meyenburg Meyenburg () is a town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 23 km northwest of Wittstock, and 18 km northeast of Pritzwalk. The town contains Meyenburg Castle. History From 1815 to 1945, Meyenburg was par ...

. She painted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. In the

interwar years In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

Noltenius traveled to France (Paris specifically), Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Spain. Noltenius remained in Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She attempted to protect her friend and fellow artist

Dora Bromberger Dora Bromberger (1881 – 1942) was German artist who worked primarily with watercolor and oils, painting expressionist landscapes. She was born into a family of musicians in Bremen, Germany, and attended art school beginning in 1912, first in ...

from persecution by the Nazis. She organized exhibitions in an attempt to save Bromberger from deportation, but despite her efforts Bromberger was deported and murdered in a concentration camp in 1942. Noltenius' Bremen studio and the most of the artwork in it were destroyed by a bomb in 1944. She built a new studio in Meyenburg in 1949. Noltenius died on 22 February 1964 in Bremen. Her work is in the

Focke Museum The Focke Museum is the museum of history and the history of art for the city and state of Bremen. It was formed in 1924 by the merger of a museum of industry and commerce and the previous historical museum, and is named for the founder of the lat ...

and the

Kunsthalle Bremen The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in Bremen, Germany. It is located close to the Bremen Old Town on the "Culture Mile" (german: Kulturmeile). The Kunsthalle was built in 1849, enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister, and expanded ...

Biography

References

External links

Further reading