Curt Echtermeyer (1896–1971), also known as Curt Bruckner or Curt Bruckner-Echtermeyer, was a Chilean-German painter.

Life

Curt Echtermeyer was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, Chile, in 1896 as the son of an immigrant who soon returned to Germany, and his Chilean wife. Curt and his sister grew up in

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 ...

, where he attended art school from 1914. He lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1925/26, taking up contact with other surrealist artists. The painter was "overlooked" for conscription in the

First World War 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 ...

and spared service at the front in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Yet it was the Nazi dictatorship which forced him to develop a fundamentally different second style, and the Stalinist dictatorship in the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

which prompted him to leave Berlin. In 1962, after the erection of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, Curt Echtermeyer took up residence in the Old Town of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

, a picturesque Catholic city. At the end of 1969, Curt Echtermeyer and his wife moved to his beloved

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. From his cottage in the village of San Vicente de Calders (

Province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's p ...

), he could see the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. On 11 December 1971, Curt and Wally Echtermeyer fell victim to a tragic accident; they were interred at

El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès ''comarca'' and a tou ...

. This proponent of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

pursued an artistic double life – under the name of Curt Bruckner – by providing highly popular canvases in the style of 19th century

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. As Echtermeyer, the artist often created vast, dark, dreamlike, unsettling scenes, while as Bruckner, he produced intimate, warm, quotidian, idyllic images. Echtermeyer categorically rejected preparatory studies, drawing directly onto the canvas or wood before applying oil or pastel, and preferred to paint by night. Many oil paintings of his Paris period are relatively small and executed directly on wood, as he lived in various, narrow, lodgings and sometimes used parts of the furniture, for instance the bottom of drawers. Curt Echtermeyer was related to the writer

Ernst Theodor Echtermeyer Ernst Theodor Echtermeyer (12 August 1805, Bad Liebenwerda – 6 May 1844) was a German writer and philosopher. Together with Arnold Ruge Arnold Ruge (13 September 1802 – 31 December 1880) was a German philosopher and political writer. He wa ...

and the sculptor Carl Friedrich Echtermeier, formerly Echtermeyer. The latter changed his name in 1905, possibly to confirm the break with his eldest son Romolus, Curt’s father.

Work

Work as Curt Echtermeyer

Echtermeyer’s early work is generally sombre and surreal, populated by pale figures with mask-like faces. Black, grey, brown and dark shades, often punctuated by white or blood-red, prevail in many scenes, while others shine in rainbow colours. Later, the palette and mood of his paintings lightened, and some approached abstraction, while still teeming with people. His impressions of traditional festivities in

are reminiscent of fireworks; so is his pastel ''The Feast of Life'' from his last years in Spain. Selection of works signed as Echtermeyer: *''Selbstbildnis'' (''Self-Portrait'') (1916) *''Café Boheme Berlin'' (1922) *''Urwald'' (''Jungle'') (1924) *''Mondgöttin'' (''Moon Goddess'') (ca. 1925) *''Tanzender Tod'' (''Dancing Death'') (ca. 1925) *''Tomaten'' (''Tomatoes'') (1927) *''Legende'' (''Legend'') (1929) *''Selbstbildnis'' (''Self-Portrait'') (ca. 1938) *''Selbstbildnis'' (''Self-Portrait'') (1946/47) *''Bildnis eines Tänzers'' (''Portrait of a Dancer'') *''Zirkus – buntes Treiben in der Arena'' (''Circus'') *''Madame Zebra'' (1948) *''Prozession in Bamberg I-III'', ''Sandkerwa in Bamberg'' (1963) *''Das Fest des Lebens'' (''The Feast of Life'') (1970)

Work as Curt Bruckner

Curt Echtermeyer was prompted to turn to interiors by the changed political circumstances in the thirties. After the war, his dexterity earned him a regular and comfortable income with Berlin art dealer Werner Karst, who established a production line of popular and affordable

genre scenes Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

for German homes. Amongst a flood of mainly German landscapes, Curt Bruckner seems to have been one of the few suppliers of figurative motives, billed as “specialist in Old Masters”. His genre views often depict comfortable middle-class men in the pursuit of their trades or hobbies, for example making or playing musical instruments. Many of these are set in the past – either the nineteenth century, whose artistic style they emulate, or those preceding. The genre scenes are dominated by a warm golden brown, contrasting with the melancholy ashen tones of Echtermeyer's surrealist and expressionist imagery. The historical interiors are crammed with books, globes, plans, models and framed paintings. The virtuoso artist sometimes playfully signed a picture in the picture with "C. Bruckner pinx.".See details of ''The Great Architect'' (1962)
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Bibliography

* ''Curt Echtermeyer, 1896 bis 1971 : Ölbilder und Pastelle''. Photo gallery by Klaus Spermann

* Rüdiger Preisler: ''Meine Begegnung mit dem Maler Curt Echtermeyer''. In: ''Curt Echtermeyer, 1896 - 1971 : Ölbilder und Pastelle''. Berlin : Galerie Bassenge ; Archiv Klaus Spermann,

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* Barbara Borek: ''Die Kraft der Bilder''. Published online 26 Jan 201

* ''Vierzig Prozent Alpen''. In: ''DER SPIEGEL'' 49/1955, p. 65-67. First published in print 30 Nov 1955

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echtermeier, Curt 1896 births 1971 deaths 20th-century German painters German male painters German surrealist artists German Expressionist painters 20th-century Chilean painters Chilean male artists 20th-century German male artists Chilean male painters Chilean surrealist artists Genre painters Male painters 20th-century Chilean male artists Chilean emigrants to Germany