Hanns Bolz (22 January 1885, in

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 ...

– 4 July 1918, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

) was a German painter, illustrator and sculptor. He worked in the

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 radi ...

and

Cubo-Futurist Cubo-Futurism (also called Russian Futurism or Kubo-Futurizm) was an art movement that arose in early 20th century Russian Empire, defined by its amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo- ...

styles.

Biography

After studying in Aachen and Cologne, he attended the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová ...

from 1905 to 1908. He then spent three years in Paris, where he rented a studio in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

that had previously been occupied by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. He became an habitué of

Le Dôme Café Le Dôme Café () or Café du Dôme is a restaurant in Montparnasse, Paris that first opened in . Based on the example established by La Closerie des Lilas (created in 1847) and followed by Café de la Rotonde (created in 1911), Le Select (crea ...

, where he became acquainted with Hans Purrmann,

Rudolf Levy Rudolf Levy (15 July 1875, in Stettin – January 1944, in Italy or Auschwitz) was a German expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20t ...

and, most importantly,

Alfred Flechtheim Alfred Flechtheim (1 April 1878 – 9 March 1937) was a German Jewish art dealer, art collector, journalist and publisher persecuted by the Nazis. Early years Flechtheim was born into a Jewish merchant family; his father, Emil Flechtheim, was a g ...

, who would serve as his agent for the rest of his brief career. From 1911 to 1912, he lived in Munich, working as an illustrator for the magazine ''Komet''. While there, he met

Franz Marc Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of '' Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later ...

and became associated with the painters of the

Der Blaue Reiter ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider) is a designation by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc for their exhibition and publication activities, in which both artists acted as sole editors in the almanac of the same name, first published in mid-May ...

. Apparently restless there, he returned to Paris and rented another studio; this time in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

. He also travelled extensively, visiting Madrid, London, Venice and Oslo. In 1914, he was drafted for military service and sent to the front. While there, he was involved in a poison gas attack that left him nearly blind and he was mustered out of service in 1917. From that time on, he concentrated on sculpting, as the tactile element compensated for his lost vision to some extent. At this time, he was living with

Otto Freundlich Otto Freundlich (10 July 1878 – 9 March 1943) was a German painter and sculptor of Jewish origin. A part of the first generation of abstract painters in Western art, Freundlich was a great admirer of cubism. Life Freundlich was born in ...

, at his studio in Cologne. Later, he returned to Munich, but became ill and had to be admitted to a hospital where he died of complications from his war injuries.

Selected paintings

Bildnis Alfred Flechtheim.jpg,

File:Hanns Bolz Montmartre 1910.jpg,

File:Hanns Bolz Esel mit Karren 1903.jpg, Donkey with Cart File:Hanns Bolz Frau mit Hut.jpg, Woman with hat, 1912–1913

External links

Biography
@ the Mies van der Rohe website

@ Hanns Bolz webpage (Freepage)
ArtNet: More works by Bolz.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolz, Hanns 1885 births 1918 deaths 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters German Expressionist painters German military personnel killed in World War I People from Aachen German Army personnel of World War I

Biography

Selected paintings

Further reading

External links