Anita Clara Rée (born 9 February 1885 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, died 12 December 1933 in Kampen) was a German

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

painter during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. She killed herself after the anti-Semitic government declared her work degenerate. Her works were saved by a groundskeeper.

Biography

Born into an old Jewish family of Hamburg merchants who traded in goods from India, she was the daughter of Israel Rée and Clara, née Hahn. Anita and her sister Emilie were however baptized and raised as

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

, in accordance with the social norms of assimilated upper middle class and upper class Jewish families in Germany at the time. From 1905, she studied with the Hamburg painter Arthur Siebelist. In 1906, she met

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

, who recognized her talent and encouraged her to continue her artistic career. Around 1910 she, Franz Nölken and others formed a studio community, but it broke up due to her unrequited love for Nölken. During the winter of 1912–1913, she studied with

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

in Paris. In 1913, she participated in a major showing at the Galerie Commeter in Hamburg. From around 1914, Anita Rée gained recognition as a portrait painter. In 1919, she joined the "Hamburg Secession", modeled on similar groups in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 1921, she toured the

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. From 1922 to 1925, her primary residence was in

Positano Positano ( ; in Neapolitan language, Neapolitan: () is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. History The first evidence of a settle ...

. She returned to Hamburg in 1926 and helped found GEDOK, an association of women artists. She also created several murals in public buildings, but most were later destroyed by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

government. In 1930, she received a commission to create a

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

for the altar at the new Ansgarkirche in Langenhorn. The church fathers were not happy with her designs, however, and the commission was withdrawn in 1932 over "religious concerns". Meanwhile, the Nazis had denounced her as a Jew and the Hamburg Art Association called her an "alien". Shortly after, she moved to

Sylt Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Fris ...

. She committed suicide in 1933, partly as a result of having been subjected to such hostility and continuing harassment by antisemitic forces, partly due to disappointments on the personal level. In a note to her sister, she decried the insanity of the world. In 1937, the Nazis designated Rée's work as " Degenerate art" and began purging it from museum collections. Wilhelm Werner, a groundskeeper at the

Kunsthalle Hamburg The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. It consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaal) and ...

preserved many of Rée's paintings by hiding them in his apartment.

Selected works

File:Anita Rée.jpg, ''Teresina'', 1925,
Hamburger Kunsthalle File:Anita Rée Schlucht bei Pians 1921.jpg, ''Canyon in

Pians Pians is a municipality in the district of Landeck in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 4.3 km west of the city of Landeck Landeck () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck. Geography Landeck i ...

'', 1921, Hamburger Kunsthalle File:Anita Rée - Weisse Bäume (1922).jpg, ''White Trees'', 1925,
Hamburger Kunsthalle File:Anita Rée - Junger Chinese - 1919.jpeg, ''Young Chinese Man'', 1919, Hamburger Kunsthalle File:Anita Ree- "Naturstudie zu einder der klugen jungfrauen".jpg, ''Naturstudie zu einer der klugen Jungfrauen'' 25 cm × 15.5 cm. A study for the wall-painting in Schule Uferstraße, Hamburg. Oeuvre-catalogue number Z 318 a. File:Anita Rée Die klugen und die törichten Jungfrauen-2.png, ''Die klugen und die törichten Jungfrauen'', Mural, c. 1930, destroyed File:Anita Rée Oase in Kampen.jpg, ''Die Oase in Kampen'', 1932/33, Watercolor 39 × 49 cm

Exhibitions

* 1986 – Eva und die Zukunft. Das Bild der Frau seit der Französischen Revolution, Hamburger Kunsthalle * 2004 – Kunst der 20er Jahre in Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle * 2005 – Ausgegrenzt, Hamburger Kunsthalle * 2006 – Künstlerinnen der Avantgarde, Hamburger Kunsthalle * 2010 – Himmel auf Zeit. Kunst der 20er Jahre in Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle * 2011/12: – Die Sammlung des Hausmeisters Wilhelm Werner, Hamburger Kunsthalle, 28. September 2011 bis 15. Januar 2012 * 2017/2018 – Anita Reé. Retrospektive, Hamburger Kunsthalle

Literature

* Carl Georg Heise: ''Anita Rée.'' Christians Verlag, Hamburg 1968 * Bettina Roggmann: ''Anita Rée.'' In: ''Eva und die Zukunft.'' Prestel Verlag, München 1986 (Ausstellungskatalog Hamburger Kunsthalle) * Jutta Dick, Marina Sassenberg (Hrsg.): ''Jüdische Frauen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert.'' Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1993, . * Maike Bruhns: ''Anita Rée. Leben und Werk einer Hamburger Malerin 1885–1933.''

Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte The Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte (VHG) is a historical society founded on 9 April 1839, which is open to both professional historians and historically interested laypersons. The society's office and library are located in the . History ...

, Hamburg 2001, . * Maike Bruhns, ''Jewish Art? Anita Rée and “New Objectivity”'' In: Key Documents of German-Jewish History, December 6, 2016. * Karin Schick ''Anita Rée. Retrospektive'', Monografie (English), Prestel Verlag, .

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ree, Anita 1885 births Artists from Hamburg 20th-century German painters 20th-century German women artists German Expressionist painters Jewish women painters Jewish painters German muralists German portrait painters German women painters German modern painters Artists who died by suicide Suicides by poison German women muralists 1933 suicides 1933 deaths Suicides in Germany German Jews who died in the Holocaust Suicides by Jews during the Holocaust