Saturday, June 19, 2010

Conrad Felixmüller - Dresden and Berlin

Conrad Felixmüller, Postplatz - Dresden im Schnee, 1933

Even before the Nazis seized power, Conrad Felixmüller was in a difficult position. He was vilified for his socio-critic and expressionist works of the twenties, and in 1933 40 of his works were shown in the exhibition "Degenerate Art" in the atrium of City Hall in Dresden. Due to the increasing hostility and lack of orders, the artist found himself compelled, to move with his family to Berlin in 1934. The above work, painted in January 1933, is a kind of farewell picture of his hometown.

Conrad Felixmüller, Berlin, 1934

In Berlin, the Felixmüller family moved into a flat in Charlottenburg (Rönnestraße 18), from where he painted this view in direction of Wilmersdorf and the Funkturm. We also see the Berlin S-Bahn (City Train) in its typical yellow-red pattern. The flat was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1941. Back to Dresden: In happier times, 1927, Felixmüller produced the following work, called "Lovers in Dresden", depicting himself and (hopefully) his wife in front of the Augustus Bridge:

 Conrad Felixmüller, Lovers in Dresden, 1927


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