Peter Ludwigs (16 February 1888,

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

– 3 July 1943,

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 ...

) was a German sculptor and

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter. He is primarily known for his later,

Anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

paintings.

Biography

He was born into an old family of manufacturers. Initially, he studied sculpture at the (a

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...

) and the

Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts - École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Bruxelles (ARBA-ESA), nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel), is an art school established in Br ...

in Brussels. In 1911, he moved to Düsseldorf and got married. From 1915 to 1918, he was a voluntary participant in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, an experience that left him opposed to militarism. A year after his return, he joined the left-wing ''Aktivistenbund 1919'' ("Neuen Gesellschaft für künstlerische Kultur"). He was also one of the co-founders of "

Young Rhineland Young Rhineland (Das Junge Rheinland) was an association of avant-garde artists formed in Düsseldorf on 24 February 1919. History The poet Herbert Eulenberg was one of the main instigators of the group, along with painter Arthur Kaufmann and ...

". During this time, he turned from sculpture to painting; with an emphasis on social commentary. In 1922, he became a member of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

(KPD). Two years later, he was one of the co-founders of the satirical journal ''Die Peitsche'' (the whip). Together with and

Gert Heinrich Wollheim Gert Heinrich Wollheim (11 September 1894 – 22 April 1974) was a German expressionist painter later associated with the New Objectivity, who fled nazi Germany and worked in the United States after 1947. Life and work Gert Heinrich Wollheim wa ...

, he published cartoons and graphics in opposition to militarism and supporting "class justice". He and several other left-leaning German painters also participated in the "First General Art Exhibition" in Moscow (1924). After "Young Rhineland" broke up, he became a board member of its successor, the "Rhenish Secession". In 1929 he, Schwesig, , ,

Julo Levin Julo Levin, originally Julius (5 September 1901, Stettin - 1943, KZ Auschwitz) was a German Expressionist painter of Jewish ancestry. Most of his surviving works are watercolors and sketches, however his family have some of his paintings. He wa ...

, and the actor/director

Wolfgang Langhoff Wolfgang Langhoff (6 October 1901 in Berlin, German Empire – 26 August 1966 in Berlin, German Democratic Republic)The Internet Movie Database"Wolfgang Langhoff" Accessed 17 August 2007. was a German theatre, film and television actor and theat ...

created the

Association of Revolutionary Visual Artists The Association of Revolutionary Visual Artists of Germany (German: ''Assoziation revolutionärer bildender Künstler Deutschlands'', or ARBKD) was an organization of artists who were members of the Communist Party of Germany (''Kommunistische Parte ...

(known in German as ASSO). After

Hitler's rise to power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

in 1933, his paintings were classified as "

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 banned from being shown in public. Cut off from his livelihood and increasingly impoverished, he joined the

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

and distributed illegal Communist pamphlets. He also became part of a group of Anti-fascist artists in Düsseldorf, who offered each other mutual financial support and protection, centered around the painter,

Otto Pankok Otto Pankok (6 June 1893 – 10 October 1966) was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Biography Pankok was born in Mülheim on the Ruhr. In 1912 he began his formal training as an artist at the Art Academies in Düsseldorf and Weim ...

. His activities put him under constant surveillance by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and he was arrested in 1937, on suspicion of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, but released in 1938. In February, 1943, he was arrested again and sent to , where he was assigned to a labor gang doing heavy road-clearing work. A combination of exhaustion and

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

deprivation (he was

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...

) caused his death in July. In 1962, a monument was erected in the , commemorating Ludwigs, Julo Levin and

Franz Monjau Franz Monjau (30 January 1903, Cologne - 28 February 1945, KZ Buchenwald) was a German Expressionist painter and art teacher. Biography His father, Max Monjau, was a manufacturer from Barmen. His mother Paula, née Meyer, was the daughter of a ...

. A

stolperstein A (; plural ; literally 'stumbling stone', metaphorically a 'stumbling block') is a sett-size, concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The project, initiat ...

was later placed at his residence in Düsseldorf. Thirty of his paintings are on display at the

Museum Kunstpalast The Kunstpalast, formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf is an art museum in Düsseldorf. History The roots of the museum go back around 300 years. In 1932, the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Art) was housed in the Kunstmus ...

."Von Künstlern, die im Rheinland aktiv waren, besitzt die Sammlung nicht selten größere Konvolute – in der Kunst vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg beispielsweise gut 30 Gemälde von Peter Ludwigs" (PDF)
auf rak-bonn.de, in ''Zum Werknachlass des Malers

Walter Ophey Walter Hugo Ophey (25 March 1882 – 11 January 1930) was a German painter and graphic designer, known for Rhenish Expressionism. He was a member of the Sonderbund group and Young Rhineland art groups. Biography Walter Hugo Ophey was born o ...

(1882–1930) im Museum Kunstpalast'', retrieved 10 May 2016.

Selected paintings

Ludwigs-Table.jpg, Working Family at the Table (Mealtime) Ludwigs-War.jpg, The War Ludwigs-Widows.jpg, War Widows Ludwigs-Mother.jpg, Mother B. (at Düsseldorf Prison)

References

External links

''Peter Ludwigs''
Data at RKD ( Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie)
Gerda Kaltwasser: ''Peter Ludwigs – ein verfolgter Künstler''. Rheinische Post, Düsseldorfer Stadtpost, 23 January 1982
from Frauen-Kultur-Archiv
"Peter Ludwigs, Robert Pudlich, Luzie Uptmoor im Eingang der Galerie"

Johanna Ey Johanna Ey (4 March 1864 – 27 August 1947) was a German art dealer during the 1920s. She became known as ''Mutter Ey'' (Mother Ey) for the nurturing support she provided to her artists, who included Max Ernst and Otto Dix. Biography Ey was ...

in the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf
Peter Ludwigs, Life and work
@ Memoriart {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwigs, Peter 1888 births 1943 deaths 20th-century German painters 20th-century male artists German Expressionist painters German anti-fascists German communists Deaths from diabetes Artists from Aachen German people who died in the Holocaust German military personnel of World War I