Else Hertzer (1884–1978) was a 20th-century German artist representing the German

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Movement. Her later works became more abstract.

Life

She was born Else Heintze on 24 November 1884 at 22 Collegienstrasse in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

close to

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

's house. In 1909 (on marriage) she moved to Altonaer Strasse in the Tiergarten district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Between 1911 and 1913 she spent much time with her in-laws in Buttstadt in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

in central Germany. Here she began producing drypoint etchings and several paintings. From 1918 she joined the Berlin Secession Movement. Her first publicly exhibited painting was "Frohnau". Around 1919 began formal studies at the Academy of Arts in Berlin, alongside George Mosson. In 1929 she went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for further lessons under Andre Lhote. During the

Second World War 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 received a peculiar commission from her home town to create a series of wall murals for a communal bunker serving as an air-raid shelter. The murals depicted the history of Wittenberg. Wittenberg's location and lack of strategic importance meant that the town (and bunker) escaped without damage, but the bunker was later removed when under GDR control. Following her 90th birthday the Berliner Morgenpost commented on her continuing freshness of style and enduring popularity. She died at 7 Dortmunder Strasse in Berlin on 9 February 1978.

Family

In 1909 she married Otto Hertzer, gaining the name Else Hertzer.

Exhibitions

* Else Hertzer & Brun-Stiller, Parkhaus im Englischen Garten, Berlin, 1962 * Else Hertzer, Haus der Kirche, Berlin, 1969 * Else Hertzer zum 90. Geburtstag: Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Aquarelle, Radierungen, Parkhaus im Englischen Garten Berlin, 1966, 1970 und 17. Juni–15. Juli 1975 * Das nachgelassene Werk aus 70 Jahren, Haus am Lützowplatz Berlin, 1979 * Der Fläming bei Wittenberg, Dreißig Originalwerke aus den Jahren 1907 bis 1951, Historischer Saal des Simonettihauses, Coswig (Anhalt), 2016 * Luther und die Kühe. 20 Bilder der Avantgarde-Künstlerin Else Hertzer, Vlora-Café, Wittenberg, 2017 * „Else Hertzer“ – Bilder aus dem Fläming, agnes neuhaus café, Berlin-Niederschönhausen, 9. Juni 2017–15. Juli 2017 * Retrospektive "Else Hertzer. Die Vielseitige. Wittenberg. Berlin. Buttstädt. Paris", Kunsthaus Apolda, 30. Juni bis 1. September 2019 (Aufgerufen am 13. Juli. 2019) * "Else Hertzer. Kriegsmappe 1945", Museum of Municipal Collections in the Zeughaus, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 2019 * Wiederentdeckt: Else Hertzer (1884–1978) – Aquarelle und Zeichnungen aus Füssen, den Alpen, Wittenberg und Berlin, Museum der Stadt Füssen, 20. Juni 2020 bis 6. September 2020

Publications

*''Parthenon Vertag'' (1924) 250 hand-printed copies including six woodcuts

References

1884 births 1978 deaths People from Wittenberg German Expressionist painters 20th-century German painters {{Germany-artist-stub