Hedwig Weiß (25 May 1860,

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

- 1923, Berlin) was a German painter and graphic artist. Her works are primarily

Impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

in style.

Biography

Her father, Bernhard Weiß, was an Evangelical

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Her mother, Hermine (née Von Woyna) was a member of the nobility. They supported her interest in the visual arts as a pastime, but not as a profession. She and her friend,

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born as Schmidt; 8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''T ...

, received lessons in drawing and engraving from Rudolph Mauer (1845-1905). Later, she attended the in Berlin where she studied with

Karl Stauffer-Bern Karl Stauffer, known as Karl Stauffer-Bern (2 September 1857, Trubschachen – 24 January 1891, Florence) was a Swiss painter, etcher and sculptor. Life His father was a curate and pastor in Bern. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Mun ...

and met her lifelong friend,

Maria Slavona Maria Slavona, born Marie Dorette Caroline Schorer (14 March 1865, Lübeck - 10 May 1931, Berlin) was a German impressionist painter. Life Her father, , was a pharmacist and politician who was known for his campaign to improve the quality ...

. In 1887, she completed her studies in Munich with

Ludwig von Herterich Ludwig von Herterich (13 October 1856, Ansbach - 25 December 1932, Etzenhausen, today in Dachau) was a German painter and art teacher. He is best known as a painter of portraits and history paintings and is a representative of the Munich Scho ...

, and

Fritz von Uhde Fritz von Uhde (born Friedrich Hermann Carl Uhde; 22 May 1848 – 25 February 1911) was a German painter of genre and religious subjects. His style lay in-between Realism and Impressionism, he was once known as "Germany's outstanding impressioni ...

, who had a significant influence on her style. After 1888, she shared a studio in Berlin with

Olga Boznańska Olga Boznańska (15 April 1865 – 26 October 1940) was a Polish painter of the turn of the 20th century. She was a notable painter in Poland and Europe, and was stylistically associated with the French impressionism, though she rejected this lab ...

and became a member of the

Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen The Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen (English: Association of Berlin Artists) is the oldest existing association of women artists in Germany. It maintains the ''archive Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen 1867 e. V.,'' publishes club announcements ...

. She participated in their exhibitions and eventually joined their governing board. She also presented her works at the second exhibition of the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

and had showings fifteen times between 1900 and 1913. A partularly important exhibit was the one held in 1907 at the

German Museum of Books and Writing The German Museum of Books and Writing (german: Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum (DBSM)) in Leipzig, Germany, founded in 1884 as ''Deutsches Buchgewerbe-Museum'', is the world's oldest museum of its kind, dedicated to collecting and preserving o ...

. The reviews she received were mostly positive. In 1910, she became one of the few women admitted as members of the Berlin secession. She was also accepted into 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 ...

.''Mitglieder ab 1903''
@ the Künstlerbund website During World War I, she provided illustrations for the magazine ' Her father died in 1918, so she lost the financial support he had been providing. This, together with the

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...

that followed the war, left her virtually penniless. She became increasingly ill, withdrew from public life, and died on an unknown date in 1923. Weiss-Wartime

She was soon forgotten and much of her work has been lost. A research project at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

is attempting to trace her paintings and reassemble as many as possible.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Hedwig 1860 births 1923 deaths 19th-century German painters German engravers German women artists Artists from Königsberg Women engravers 20th-century German painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links