Julie Wolfthorn (8 January 1864 – 26 December 1944) 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 ...

. Born as Julie Wolf(f) to a middle-class

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish family, she later styled herself as Julie Wolfthorn after

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

(Toruń), her city of birth.

Life

Wolfthorn was born in

(Toruń) in the Prussian

Province of Prussia The Province of Prussia (; ; pl, Prowincja Prusy; csb, Prowincjô Prësë) was a province of Prussia from 1829 to 1878. Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1829 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia ...

. In 1883, she moved to

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 ...

to live with her relatives after her parents died. In 1890, she studied in

Curt Herrmann Hugo Curt Herrmann (1 February 1854 – 13 September 1929) was a German Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter; associated with the Berlin Secession. Biography He was born in Merseburg, in the Prussian Province of Saxony (now Saxony-A ...

's Drawing and Painting School for ladies. Since German art academies would not permit women, she traveled to Paris to study at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

and

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

, where she gained much of the skills needed to become successful. After she finished her studies in Paris, Wolfthorn returned to Berlin. In 1898, she became the co-founder 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 the "Verein der Künstlerinnen und Kunstfreunde Berlin" (Association of Artists and Art Lovers Berlin). In 1905, Julie Wolfthorn and over 200 female artists signed a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

to be allowed to join the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

, which was ultimately rejected by the academy director

Anton von Werner Anton Alexander von Werner (9 May 18434 January 1915) was a German painter known for his history paintings of notable political and military events in the Kingdom of Prussia.Fulbrook, Mary and John Breuilly (1997) ''German History Since 1800'' ...

. With

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 ...

, she founded the exhibition cooperation "Verbindung Bildender Künstlerinnen". The two women are elected to directors of the "Secession" in 1912, but she and Fanny Remak are removed in 1933. Julie Wolfthorn stayed in Berlin, working with the "Kulturbund Deutscher Juden" (Cultural Association of German Jews) under pressure from the Nazis, which declared it illegal in 1941, arresting the members and seizing the possessions. On 28 October 1942, 78-year-old Julie Wolfthorn and her sister Luise Wolf who, like all other family members except the painter called themselves Wolff or Wolf, were transported to the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...

. Wolfthorn is said to have continued drawing, as far as possible under the circumstances, until her death on 26 December 1944.

Work

Julie Wolfthorn - Portrait of a Sculptor

Julie Wolfthorn - Portrait Marlene Dietrich, um 1930

Known best for her portraits, Wolfthorn was one of the leading female artists at the start of the 20th century, along with

and

Dora Hitz Dora Hitz (30 March 1856, Altdorf bei Nürnberg - 20 November 1924, Berlin) was a Court Painter to the Romanian Royal Family, a member of the November Group and co-founder of the Berlin Secession. Life When she was six years old, her family ...

. She created portraits of hundreds of famous people from her time from Berlin, including many female activists. Some of the most famous subjects of her portraits include: *Ida and

Richard Dehmel Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (18 November 1863 – 8 February 1920) was a German poet and writer. Life A forester's son, Richard Dehmel was born in Hermsdorf near Wendisch Buchholz (now a part of Münchehofe) in the Brandenburg Province, Ki ...

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Hedda Eulenberg Hedda Eulenberg (6 March 1876 – 13 September 1960) was a German translator and writer Biography Eulenberg was born in Meiderich (today part of Duisburg) in Prussian Rhine Province, the daughter of Wilhelm Maase, a music director. She passe ...

Hedwig Lachmann Hedwig Lachmann (29 August 1865 – 21 February 1918) was a German author, translator and poet. Life and work Lachmann was born in Stolp, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania in 1865, to a Jewish family, and was the daughter of a Hazza ...

Gustav Landauer Gustav Landauer (7 April 1870 – 2 May 1919) was one of the leading theorists on anarchism in Germany at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He was an advocate of social anarchism and an avowed pacifist. In 1919, he ...

*the families of the architects

Hermann Muthesius Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius (20 April 1861 – 29 October 1927), known as Hermann Muthesius, was a German architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts movement within German ...

and

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, designing objects, typefaces, and i ...

Dagny Juel-Przybyszewska Dagny Juel-Przybyszewska (8 June 1867 – 5 June 1901) was a Norwegian writer, famous for her liaisons with various prominent artists, and for the dramatic circumstances of her death. She was the model for some of Edvard Munch's paintings. She ...

Gabriele Reuter Gabriele Reuter (8 February 1859 – 16 November 1941) was a German writer. Gabriele Reuter, who was widely read in her lifetime though now is almost forgotten, was known for her novel ''From a Good Family'' (Aus guter Familie, 1895), subtitled ...

*Grete and

Conrad Ansorge Conrad Eduard Reinhold Ansorge (15 October 1862 – 13 February 1930) was a German pianist, teacher and composer. He was born in Buchwald, Silesia, studied at the Leipzig Conservatory between 1880 and 1882, and under Franz Liszt in Weimar in 1 ...

Tilla Durieux Tilla Durieux (born Ottilie Godeffroy; 18 August 1880 – 21 February 1971) was an Austrian theatre and film actress of the first decades of the 20th century. Early Years Born Ottilie Helene Angela Godeffroy on 18 August 1880, she was the daug ...

Maria Orska Maria Orska ( uk, Марія Орська; russian: Мария Орская; 16 March 1893 – 16 May 1930) was an important actress of the German theater and cinema in the 1920s. Maria Orska was born as Rachel Blindermann in 1893, of a Jewish ...

Carola Neher Carola Neher (born Karola Neher; 2 November 1900 – 26 June 1942) was a German actress and singer. Biography Neher was born in Munich in 1900. She started to work as a bank clerk in 1917. In the summer of 1920, she made her debut performance ...

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*Margarethe and

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...

*Emilie and Rudolf Mosse *

Christian Rohlfs Christian Rohlfs (November 22, 1849 – January 8, 1938) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the important representatives of German expressionism. Early life and education He was born in Groß Niendorf, Kreis Segeberg in Prussia. ...

Literature

* Breuer, Gerda. Meer, Julia (Ed.): ''Women in Graphic Design'', Jovis. Berlin, 2012. , p. 403 ff, 587-588 * Heike Carstensen: ''Die Malerin und Graphikerin Julie Wolfthorn (1864 - 1944). Rekonstruktion eines Künstlerinnenleben'', Marburg 2011. * Hedwig Brenner: ''Jüdische Frauen in der bildenden Kunst II.'' Konstanz 2004. * ''Jugend'' Jg. 2, No. 47, cover design, 1897.

References

External links

*
Biography at Julie-Wolfthorn.deJulie Wolfthorn past auction worksBerlin-Women: Julie WolfthornCurt Herrmann Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfthorn, Julie People from the Province of Prussia People from Toruń German people who died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto 1864 births 1944 deaths 19th-century German painters 20th-century German painters Académie Julian alumni Académie Colarossi alumni