MAKING OF: HERI – Eine Auftragsmalerei für das Künstlerhaus München

MAKING OF: HERI – A commissioned painting for the Künstlerhaus Munich

March 31, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
125 years of the Munich Artists' House

A commissioned painting for the Munich Künstlerhaus for its 125th anniversary on March 29, 2025.

Interpretation of the paintings of the window prospectuses 2025 in the Munich Künstlerhaus
The idea for the interpretation “ 125 Years of the Munich Künstlerhaus ” arose largely from the architectural specifications of the ballroom with its three large windows.
Assigning these themes to three themes, they represent an illustrative sequence of free, pictorial interpretations of the creation, implementation and use of the Künstlerhaus. The division of the three brochures into " Yesterday " (HERI), " Today " (HODIE) and " Tomorrow " (CRAS) was therefore obvious.

HERI or how do you visualize the birth of an idea?
You look it up in the dictionary of paintings and under "R" you'll find Raphael. No less a master of the High Renaissance and the creator of the nearly eight-meter-wide mural " The School of Athens " in the "Stanza della Segnatura" in the Vatican. A picture in which the ancient, influential philosophers and scientists of Western civilization come together in a fictitious building that seems to do justice to the scope of all their ideas. A space in which new things can obviously emerge. In which ideas are born.
This space, with its impressive architecture, seemed a perfect setting to depict the birth of the idea for an Künstlerhaus in Munich. One only needed to replace the old philosophers with the influential artistic personalities in Munich around 1900, and one would have the birth of the Munich Künstlerhaus, with some of its protagonists, in a fitting setting.
Giving art its own house, its own home. This inspiring idea had been intensively discussed among Munich's artistic community for many years, and so the foundation stone was finally laid on July 3, 1893.

The protagonists and supporters behind the curtain of history
Some of the protagonists. Not all of the figures named in the lower frieze could be depicted due to a lack of photographic documentation. One figure is only mentioned by name in the upper lintel of the building, yet he is arguably one of the most important: Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria. Not only through his approval of and support of the Künstlerhaus, but also through his broad patronage of the fine arts in Munich and Bavaria, Prince Regent Luitpold—like his predecessors and descendants—placed a protective and supportive hand over culture.
To provide a somewhat broader cultural perspective on the Munich years around 1900, as this is worth mentioning due to the far-reaching and forward-looking innovations that were promoted and initiated in a variety of ways, especially in Munich.
Therefore, female personalities—exemplified by those from the Munich period—also found a place in the picture. Among them were Anita Augspurg, the first female lawyer to receive a doctorate in the German Empire, a women's rights activist, and the first female photographer in Munich with her photo studio, Elvira.
Also appearing are the actress Liesl Karlstadt, the sculptor and graphic artist Käthe Kollwitz, the painter Gabriele Münter and the painter Maria Slavona.
They all had a direct connection to Munich and its vibrant and trend-setting art scene at the time.
Likewise, a famous poet, Eugen Roth, and a well-known composer and conductor, Hermann Levi, find a place in the picture.
We see in the top row from left to right:
Wilhelm Busch , draftsman, painter - Franz Naager , painter - Franz von Stuck , painter - Heinrich Düll , sculptor - Georg Pezold , sculptor - Prof. Gabriel Seidl , architect - Prof. Franz von Lenbach , painter - Hermann Levi, conductor and composer,Eugen Roth , lyric poet -Prof. Heinrich Waderé , sculptor and medalist - Lovis Corinth , painter - Friedrich August von Kaulbach , painter - Franz August von Defregger , painter - Otto Hupp , painter - Julius Diez , painter. In front of and on the stairs we see Prof. Jakob Ungerer , sculptor on the left and Olaf Gulbransson , draftsman and painter on the right.
In the bottom row are shown from left to right:
Anita Augspurg , lawyer, women's rights activist and photographer - Liesl Karlstadt , actress - Käthe Kollwitz , painter, sculptor, graphic artist - Maria Slavona , painter -Gabriele Münter , painter.