Marta Hegemann
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Marta Hegemann (February 14, 1894 – January 28, 1970) was a German artist associated with the
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
movement and with the
Cologne Progressives The Cologne Progressives was an art movement and were an informal group of artists based in the Cologne and Düsseldorf area of Germany. They came together following the First World War and participated in the radical workers' movement. History ...
. She was a founding member of the Cologne art group
Stupid Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B ...
.


Life

Hegemann was born in
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 studied art 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 ...
, where she became part of a circle of Dadaists that included such artists as
Heinrich Hoerle Heinrich Hoerle (1 September 1895 – 7 July 1936) was a German constructivist artist of the New Objectivity movement. Hoerle was born in Cologne. He studied at the Cologne School of Arts and Crafts but was mostly self-taught as an artist. Afte ...
,
Angelika Hoerle Angelika Hoerle (Birth name, née Margaretha Angelika Fick; 20 November 1899 – 9 September 1923) was a German people, German Dada artist who was a founding member of the Cologne art group Stupid (art movement), Stupid and the cofounder of a D ...
, and
Anton Räderscheidt Anton Räderscheidt (October 11, 1892 – March 8, 1970) was a German painter who was a leading figure of the New Objectivity. Räderscheidt was born in Cologne. His father was a schoolmaster who also wrote poetry. From 1910 to 1914, Räderscheidt ...
. In 1912 she moved to Dusseldorf for further study, returning to Cologne afterwards to teach art. She stopped teaching art after a few years to concentrate on her own artwork. In 1918 she married Räderscheidt, and they had two sons, Johann and Karl-Anton. In 1919, Hegemann was involved with developing a Cologne Dada group and its offshoot
Stupid Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B ...
with Anton and her friend
Angelika Hoerle Angelika Hoerle (Birth name, née Margaretha Angelika Fick; 20 November 1899 – 9 September 1923) was a German people, German Dada artist who was a founding member of the Cologne art group Stupid (art movement), Stupid and the cofounder of a D ...
. She later moved away from Dadaism and became a key member of the
Cologne Progressives The Cologne Progressives was an art movement and were an informal group of artists based in the Cologne and Düsseldorf area of Germany. They came together following the First World War and participated in the radical workers' movement. History ...
, although she was less politically active than many members of this group. By the 1920s, Hegemann had become one of the most respected avant-garde artists in Cologne and her work was exhibited widely. Her paintings featured surreal compositions executed in a style that combined elements of Dadaism,
Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...
, and
New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, who ...
. With the rise of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, her career began to decline. She and her family moved to Rome for three years (1933–36), and in 1937 she and Anton separated. The Nazis confiscated and destroyed a good deal of her work, terming it "
degenerate art Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...
," and more work was lost in the chaos of World War II. After the war, Hegemann was unable to rebuild her career. She died of heart disease 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 ...
, in 1970. A selection of her work is on public display in the
Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lich ...
in Cologne. Numerous photographs of Hegemann, her work, and her studio were taken by
August Sander August Sander (17 November 1876 – 20 April 1964) was a German portrait and documentary photographer. His first book ''Face of our Time'' (German: ''Antlitz der Zeit'') was published in 1929. Sander has been described as "the most important Ger ...
. One image shows Hegemann with several of her iconic motifs (birds, a heart) painted on one side of her face.


References

*Beckers, Marion (ed.) ''Marta Hegemann'', Das Verborgene Museum, Berlin 1998 *Dickerman (ed.) ''Dada: Zurich, Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, New York, National Gallery of Art'', Washington 2006 *Euler-Schmidt, Michael (ed.) ''Marta Hegemann - Leben und Werk'', Stadtmusuem Cologne, 1990 *Herzogenrath, Wulf (ed.) ''Max Ernst in Köln: Die Rheinische Kunstszene bis 1922'', Rheinland-Verlag, 1980 *Littlefield, Angelika. ''The Dada Period in Cologne: Selections from the Fick-Eggert Collection'', Canada 1988 * Rowe, Dorothy, ''After Dada: Marta Hegemann and the Cologne Avant-garde'', Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013,


External links


A selection of works by Hegemann
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegemann, Marta 1894 births 1970 deaths Dada 20th-century German painters German women painters 20th-century German women artists