Josef Goller (25 January 1868 in Dachau – 29 May 1947 in Obermenzing) was a German designer, most notably of stained glass.

Life

Goller apprenticed at Franz Mayer & Co. and attended the

School of Applied Arts A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

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 Ha ...

. After a first employment in

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...

, in 1890 he moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, where he joined the well-known stained glass company of Bruno Urban; he later became Urban's partner. From 1906 Goller taught at the School of Applied Arts in Dresden, now the

Dresden Academy of Fine Arts The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institution is the produc ...

, from about 1909 as a professor. Among his students were

Otto Griebel Otto Griebel (31 March 1895 – 7 March 1972) was a German painter. In 1933, he was arrested by the Gestapo and his paintings were branded as degenerate art. His painting "Child at a Table" was one of the artworks found in the 2012 Munich ar ...

(stained glass) and

Friedrich Kurt Fiedler ''Friedrich'' Kurt Fiedler (8 March 1894 – 11 November 1950) was a German graphic designer and a representative of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party. During the Weimar Republic he was acknowledged for his poster ...

(graphics). In 1928 Goller returned to Munich.

Artwork

He created stained glass for town halls in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Dresden, and Chemnitz and for many churches and schools in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and the synagogue of Görlitz, but also for the windows of the neo-Baroque Kaiserpalast, Dresden's most impressive private building at that time, the

Dresden Zoo Dresden Zoo or Zoo Dresden, is a zoo situated in the city of Dresden, Germany. It was opened in 1861, making it Germany's fourth oldest zoo. It was originally designed by Peter Joseph Lenné. The zoo is located on the southern edge of the Groß ...

and the

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (Leipzig main station, ) is the central railway terminus in Leipzig, Germany, in the district Mitte. At , it is Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train ...

. Moreover, Goller designed the interior of important national and international exhibitions in Dresden, as well as the colouring of the foyer in the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

. Goller became known for his works in Art Nouveau style, but he remained open to new influences. He was a member of ''Die Elbier'', a post-secessionist movement led by Gotthardt Kuehl which reflected

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

. With time Goller became a supporter of

form follows function Form follows function is a principle of design associated with late 19th and early 20th century architecture and industrial design in general, which states that the shape of a building or object should primarily relate to its intended function ...

and joined the

Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (English: "German Association of Craftsmen"; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The Werkbund became an important element in the development of modern arch ...

. He also created noted posters Karl Hoffacker: ''Kunstgewerbeblatt''. E.A. Seemann, Leipzig, 1902
/ref> and designed books. He had friendly relations with

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, designing objects, typefaces, and ...

and Johann Vincenz Cissarz.

Notes

External links

Article in the Stadtwiki Dresden (in German)

German national picture archive of arts
at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

Works of Goller
at

Europeana Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...

Literature

* Frank Fiedler, Uwe Fiedler: Lebensbilder aus der Oberlausitz, Books on Demand, 2017
Digitalisat
in the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Goller, Josef 1868 births 1947 deaths German stained glass artists and manufacturers People from Dachau Art Nouveau designers