Conrad Felixmüller

About

To mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of Conrad Felixmüller (1897–1977), the Berlinische Galerie is presenting 37 prints and archive documents from the Wilke Collection in a room within the Permanent Collection. Hans-Jürgen Wilke, Felixmüller’s last printer, worked with him from 1970 until the artist’s death in 1977. Wilke’s extensive collection of prints reflects the great diversity unfolded by the artist, who lived through two world wars and several political systems. People always remained his central theme. The loans are complemented by a watercolour and an oil painting from the collection of the Berlinische Galerie.

Self-portraits are a constant thread in the work of Conrad Felixmüller and they illustrate his artistic development from an Expressionist style towards clear forms. From the 1920s, Felixmüller made many distinguished portraits of intellectuals and collectors such as Carl Sternheim and Max Liebermann. These big woodcuts rank as highlights in his printed oeuvre.

In 1920 Felixmüller was awarded the Saxon State Prize. This usually entailed a two-year sojourn in Rome, but the artist chose instead to spend a lengthy period in a working-class setting in the Ruhr area. The works he made there cast a critical eye on society, illustrating the often precarious working and living conditions of the proletariat, and some of these are on display.

Another section of the exhibition features landscapes and cityscapes. In 1944, after his studio home in Berlin suffered bomb damage, Felixmüller moved to Tautenhain in provincial Saxony. The artist took a great interest in village and rural life and captured this in many of his prints. In 1961 he came to Berlin, turning increasingly to urban motifs in the final years of his creative career.