Hans Kloss (12 July 1938 – 12 September 2018) was a German artist and graphic designer. He is best known for his large paintings combining medieval and modern styles.

Early life

Kloss was born in Ohlau,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, on 12 July 1938. He trained as a ceramics painter, and studied at the ''Fachschule für Gestaltung'' in

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district and ...

, a town in the eastern part of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, where he settled in 1953. In 1969 he moved to the neighboring town of Lorch, where he has resided since.

Work

Kloss' most famous work is his '' Staufer-Rundbild'', a panoramic painting depicting in great detail the history of the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

, a powerful ruling house in the 12th and 13th centuries. Located in Lorch Monastery, his panorama is long and tall. He started the painting in 1997, and completed it in 2002, the 900th anniversary of the monastery. Starting in 2012, Kloss was working on a new 47 square meter ''Staufersaga-Panorama'', which he completed in 2015. It can be seen in the new ''Panoramamuseum Schwäbisch Gmünd''. A monumental altar of his, in the style of

Jerg Ratgeb Jerg Ratgeb, also Jörg Ratgeb ( 1480–1526), was a German painter during the Renaissance, and a contemporary of Albrecht Dürer. Life and works Ratgeb was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Around the turn of the 15th to 16th century, he appears ...

, was bought by the Sammlung Würth in 2004. File:Hans-Kloss-Staufer-Rundbild.jpg, A detail of ''Staufer-Rundbild'' (2002) File:Hans Kloss Hohenrechberg 2002.jpg, ''Hohenrechberg'' (2002) File:Umbettung_Friedrich_I.jpg, ''Umbettung von Herzog Friedrich I.'' (2005) File:Kloss geiger-zu-gmuend.jpg, ''Der Geiger zu Gmünd'' (2006), inspired by a poem of the same name by

Justinus Kerner Justinus Andreas Christian Kerner (18 September 1786, in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany – 21 February 1862, in Weinsberg, Baden-Württemberg) was a German poet, practicing physician, and medical writer. He gave the first detailed d ...

File:Hans Kloss Staufersaga Atelier.jpg, Kloss' studio, with his ''Staufersaga'' still in progress, 2013 For his work, Kloss has received the ''Premio Internazionale Federichino'' of Iesi, Italy in 2004; the Staufermedaille of the state of Baden-Württemberg in 2005; and the ''Irenen-Preis'' of the ''Freundeskreis Königin Irene Maria von Byzanz e.V.'' of

Göppingen Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...

in 2003.

Personal life

Kloss was formerly married to Maria Kloss, a fellow painter. Kloss was a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

, and was a member of Lorch's municipal council, starting in the late 1970s. He was part of the administration and finance committee. He left the council in 2009, saying he was disappointed about the lack of estimation of his work.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kloss, Hans 1938 births 2018 deaths German artists German graphic designers People from the Province of Silesia People from Oława

Early life

Work

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links