Joseph Fassbender (Faßbender) (14 April 1903, in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

– 5 January 1974, in Cologne) was a German

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

Life and art

During the 1920s Fassbender was trained in painting by

Richard Seewald Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

at the Kölner Werkschulen. Since 1928, he ran his own studio in

. As an artist, he primarily produced

abstract painting Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

s. During the Second World War he was obliged to work as a Wehrmacht cartographer. Since 1946 he ran a studio at Bornheim near Bonn. In 1947 Fassbender founded at Schloss

Alfter Alfter ( ksh, Alefte) is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km west of Bonn. Location The community of Alfter lies west of former capital of Bonn, on the southern rid ...

near Bornheim, together with Hann Trier,

Hubert Berke Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

and some other artists and men of letters, the "Donnerstagsgesellschaft" in order to revive, and promote, modern painting in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

. In 1951 he organized an exhibition for his friend, Max Ernst. In 1955, 1959 and 1964, Fassbender participated at the

documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultura ...

s I-III in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. In 1958 the artist was appointed professor of painting and drawing at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he retired in 1968. Fassbender also designed many placards and book jackets.

Awards

* 1929 Villa Romana prize * 1955 Großer Kunstpreis der Stadt Köln * 1964

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 1964 Prize for Graphic Art,

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

Works

* "Vihaminazhera" and untitled wall-paintings at the Beethovenhalle in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

* "Coincidentia oppositorum" - wall-paintings in the entrance hall of the Gesamtschule Bonn-Bad Godesberg * Tapestries for the Staatskanzlei

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and the city hall of

* Design for the paving of the WDR building in Cologne

References

External links

Artist website
* ttp://www.wz-newsline.de/home/kultur/kunst/joseph-fassbender-neu-entdeckt-1.139600 Helga Meister, "Joseph Fassbender neu entdeckt."'' Westdeutsche Zeitung'', 17 September 2009.
Schau für Nachkriegs-Künstler Joseph Fassbender
'' Aachener Zeitung'', 17 September 2009.
Stadt Brühl: Joseph Fassbender
''Artnet''
Oxford Grove Art: Joseph Fassbender
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassbender, Joseph German draughtsmen 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters 1903 births 1974 deaths Artists from Cologne Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Academic staff of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf

Life and art

Awards

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links