Gust (Gustave) Graas (19 December 1924 – 19 February 2020) was a

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

abstract painter and businessman who played a major role in the development of the Luxembourg-based radio and television group RTL.

Early life

Graas was born in

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

in the south of Luxembourg. As a teenager, he was a member of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

. During the German occupation of Luxembourg, he was forced to join the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

, but managed to desert. After the liberation, he studied law at Louvain and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

."Gust Grass"
, ''mediArt.lu''. Retrieved 19 December 2010.

Business career

In 1952, after working as a lawyer in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...

, Graas joined CLT RTL as secretary general. In 1975, he became director-general and a member of the board. He gave the company a more European dimension and, in 1983, created

RTL Television RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is consider ...

, Germany's first private television station. Graas was also a co-founder of Luxair, Luxembourg's airline, which he headed for over 20 years.

Artistic work

Graas took an active interest in art, producing paintings and works of sculpture. When studying in Paris, he had met several Impressionist painters from the Paris School with whom he maintained contact. In 1970, he was awarded the

Prix Grand-Duc Adolphe The Prix Grand-Duc Adolphe (Grand-Duke Adolphe Prize) is a Luxembourgian art award awarded every year to one or more artists exhibiting at the ''Salon Artistique'' of the ''Cercle artistique de Luxembourg'' (CAL). The award is named after Grand Du ...

. Since his retirement in 1989, he lived in Pollença on the Spanish island of Majorca where he continued to paint. His exhibition ''Mis años en España (1989-2003)'' shows how the sun and colours of the island influenced his work. Explaining the background to his art, Graas commented: "My paintings fully express my feelings about life and about life after death".J. Ruiz Mantilla, "El luxemburgués Gust Graas muestra su obra de luz y cosmos"
''El País'', 29 January 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2010.

References

External links

Gust Graas at Mediart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graas, Gust Luxembourgian painters 1924 births Abstract painters People from Esch-sur-Alzette 2020 deaths Hitler Youth members German Army personnel of World War II Deserters