Werner Neuhaus (1 November 1897, in Burgdorf – 22 August 1934, in Lützelflüh) was a Swiss painter, printmaker and draftsman. He was a founding member of the Swiss Expressionist Rot-Blau group.

Biography

After serving an apprenticeship in lithography at the Wassermann Institute in Basel and working for a short period, Neuhaus audited art classes at the Gewerbeschule Basel. From 1921 to 1922, he studied and lived with Cuno Amiet in Oschwand. This likely influenced his decision to rent a studio in

Binningen Binningen may refer to: * Binningen, Switzerland Binningen ( Swiss German: ''Binnige'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. It is nestled in a valley, on a plateau, and on ...

in 1923, so he could pursue his art work undisturbed. While in Binningen he became friends with

Albert Müller Albert Müller (29 November 1897 Basel, Switzerland - 14 December 1926) was a Swiss Expressionist painter, glass artist, draftsman, graphic artist and sculptor. Life Müller was born in Basel in 1897. In 1917, he graduated as a glass painter from ...

, Paul Camenisch and

Hermann Scherer Hermann Scherer (8 February 1893– 13 May 1927) was a German-speaking Swiss Expressionist painter and sculptor. Life Hermann Scherer was born in Rümmingen, Baden-Württemberg in 1893. After leaving school in 1907, Scherer began an apprentices ...

. In 1924, Neuhaus joined Müller, Camenisch, and Scherer in organizing the Rot-Blau group. In 1925, Neuhaus, Scherer and Camenisch spent the summer working in

Mendrisiotto The Mendrisio District ( it, Distretto di Mendrisio, also called Mendrisiotto) is the southernmost district of canton of Ticino and of Switzerland. To its north lies the Lugano District. It is surrounded on the other three sides by Italy: to the e ...

. In 1926, he married Hedwig (Hede) Gfeller (d. 1985), daughter of the author,

Simon Gfeller Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, noted as the first person to write a novel in Bernese German. The following year, he and his wife retired from public life and moved to a rural area near

Rüegsau Rüegsau is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the Swiss canton of Bern. History Rüegsau is first mentioned in 1139 as ''Ruxow''. In 1229 it was mentioned as ''Ruchisowe''. The name comes from ''ruggere aue'', in ...

in Emmental. Later, they moved to an area near Lützelflüh called Grabenhalde, where her father lived. There he built a studio which was designed by the architect, Ernst Bützberger (1879-1935). After 1930, he changed to a style of painting that resembled the Academic realism of the 19th century. This change of style corresponded to trends in the tastes of local art collectors, affecting his ability to sell work. Sales of portraits, landscapes and

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

s increased dramatically. During this period, he was awarded a Federal Arts Fellowship and received third prize at the Concours Calame (named after the landscape painter,

Alexandre Calame Alexandre Calame (28 May 1810 – 19 March 1864) was a Swiss landscape painter, associated with the Düsseldorf School. Biography He was born in Arabie at the time belonging to Corsier-sur-Vevey, today a part of Vevey. He was the son of a skill ...

). On 20 August 1934, he was riding home on his bicycle with designs for the glass windows at St. Blasius Church when he was struck by an automobile. He died from his injuries two days later. The designs were completed in 1935 by . Werner Neuhaus Zwillinge

Exhibition catalogs

* Anna Schafroth, ''Werner Neuhaus – Maler zweier Welten'', Fischer-Media-Verlag, Münsingen-Bern 1997 * ''Werner Neuhaus''. Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur 1984 * ''Werner Neuhaus: Die Holzschnitte der „Rot-Blau“-Zeit 1924/27''. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel 1979 * Willi Raeber: ''Gedächtnisausstellung Werner Neuhaus. 31. März bis 28. April 1935''. Kunsthalle Bern, Bern 1935

References

External links

More works by Neuhaus
@ ArtNet * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neuhaus, Werner 1897 births 1934 deaths Swiss painters Expressionist painters Road incident deaths in Switzerland