René Beeh (, January 1886 − 23 January 1922) was a German draughtsman and painter from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. He was held in high esteem by his contemporaries and called "the coming genius" (''das kommende Genie'') by art historian Wilhelm Hausenstein, but with his having died prematurely, he has been mostly forgotten.

Life and work

Beeh was taught in the Fine Arts School in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

from 1900 until 1905, then in the Academy of Fine Arts in

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 ...

( student number 2936, registered on 9 May 1905), where his teachers were Peter Halm, Hugo von Habermann and

Franz von Stuck Franz Ritter von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with ...

. In 1910, he travelled to

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

where he stayed until 1911, before journeying through

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. In 1914, he published a selection of letters from Algeria along with sixty drawings, under the title ''M'Barka. Malerbriefe aus Algerien mit sechzig Zeichnungen''. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Beeh was drafted as a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

for the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

on the Western Front in Belgium (on the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient, around Ypres, in Belgium, was the scene of several battles and a major part of the Western Front during World War I. Location Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. The city is overlooked b ...

) and Northern France. Some of his War drawings were published in the Munich review ''Zeit-Echo''. After the War, Beeh, suffering from depression, is thought to have destroyed much of his own work. He died from a severe case of seasonal

flu Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

at the age of 36. Beeh was a member of the ''Neue Münchner Secession'' (New Munich

Secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

). He was also friends with several members of the Strasbourg group of painters ''Groupe de Mai''. In 1914, Beeh illustrated a book celebrating the centenary of

Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called '' Seldwyla Folks'' (''Die Leute von Se ...

, and in 1919−1920, the novel '' Inferno'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

. He also illustrated a 1918 edition of

Jeremias Gotthelf Albert Bitzius (4 October 179722 October 1854) was a Swiss novelist, best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf. Biography Bitzius was born at Murten, where his father was pastor. The Bitzius family had once belonged to the Bernese patric ...

's ''

The Black Spider ''The Black Spider'' is a novella by the Swiss writer Jeremias Gotthelf written in 1842. Set in an idyllic frame story, old legends are worked into a Christian-humanist allegory about ideas of good and evil. Though the novel is initially divide ...

'', and he contributed to the periodical ''Münchner Blätter für Dichtung und Graphik'' ("Munich Journal for Poetry and Graphics") alongside

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, Heinrich Campendonk and

Alfred Kubin Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian artist, printmaker, illustrator, and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography Kubin was born i ...

''La Révolution''

The artist's most ambitious surviving work is the large painting ''La Révolution'' ("The Revolution") (

oil on canvas Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or copper for several centuries. ...

, x , painted 1918–1919), an ominous depiction of the events of November 1918 in Strasbourg using solely

tints and shades In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. A tone is produced either by mixing a color with gray, or by both tinting and shading. M ...

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

and brown. The painting shows a small group of men seen from very close who are grabbing

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s and seem ready to launch an assault; but instead of rushing forward towards the viewer, they are gazing at a figure in

workwear Workwear is clothing worn for work, especially work that involves manual labour. Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in workwear because it is built to provide durability and safety. The workwear clothing industr ...

, who sits motionless with an inscrutable expression. The action seems frozen and time appears suspended in the very moment where violence is breaking out.

Posterity

In 2008, the Musée historique in

Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

organised an exhibition of his works, the first in France since his premature death, 86 years before. The Musée d'art moderne et contemporain of Strasbourg owns 100 works (as of 5 April 2024) by Beeh: 54 prints, 36 drawings and 10 paintings, among which two self-portraits, a portrait of the artist's father and of the artist's sister, and ''La Révolution''. The

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

currently owns 83 works by the artist, drawings and prints, and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

currently owns 27 works, also drawings and prints.

Gallery

René Beeh Révolution (retouché).jpg, ''The Revolution'' (1918–1919) René Beeh, Scène de bordel en Algérie.jpg, ''

Brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

scene in Algeria'' (1915) René Beeh, Légionnaire poignardé par un Algérien.jpg, '' French Legionnaire being stabbed by an Algerian'' (1915) René Beeh, Homme assis dans un bar.jpg, ''Man sitting in a bar'' (before 1922) René Beeh, Tranchée.jpg, ''

Trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

'' (between 1915 and 1918) René Beeh, Projet pour Inferno de Strindberg, Sackgasse.jpg, ''Dead End'' (project for ''Inferno'' by Strindberg, 1919)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeh, Rene Painters from Alsace 1886 births 1922 deaths 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German Expressionist painters German draughtsmen Painters from Strasbourg Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni German male painters German Army personnel of World War I German surveyors Deaths from influenza