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czwartek, 6 czerwca 2024

Fritz Kempe – a German painter

 

Fritz Kempe – a German painter

©Andrzej Philips

  

Head of the painter Fritz Kempe, sculpture by Henrik Ahlers, 2004.04 [Deutsche Fotothek, Dresden, Germany]

 

Fritz Kempe was a renowned German painter, graphic artist, etcher, typesetter, and art educator. His life and career spanned significant periods in German history, impacting and being impacted by the two World Wars. Here is a detailed look into his life and contributions.

Fritz Kempe was born on December 30, 1898, in Leipzig, Germany, as Richard Johann Fritz. He was the son of Emil Richard Kempe, a garden architect, and Maria Heyne, born in Kemberg on July 21, 1867. He started his career with an apprenticeship as a typesetter at the C. G. Röder company in Leipzig, while

Kempe’s academic journey was interrupted by World War I when he was drafted into the military on January 8, 1917. After the war, he resumed his studies and became a master student of Belwe, Bosert, and Kolb in the master class for etching at the Leipzig Academy. He also attended lectures on art history and pedagogy at the University of Leipzig.

From 1922 to 1939, Kempe worked as an art educator in higher education in Leipzig. Concurrently, he served as the artistic director at Ferdinand Fickentscher’s hand bookbinding workshop from 1932 to 1940. His exceptional work in graphics earned him several accolades, including awards at the International Graphic Show in Chicago (1935/1936) and the Grand Prix for Graphics at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937. In 1938, he was honored with the Saxon State Medal.

In 1942, Fritz Kempe was appointed as a professor. On October 31, 1942, he married Ingeborg Ella Margarete Meyrich in Leipzig. However, World War II once again disrupted his life when he was called to serve in the military in 1943. Tragically, in 1944, his home was bombed, resulting in the loss of a significant portion of his works.

After the war, in 1952, Kempe relocated to Dresden. He continued his artistic and teaching endeavors until his death on November 18, 1971, in Dresden.

Fritz Kempe’s life was marked by his dedication to the arts and education. Despite the interruptions and losses caused by the world wars, his work in graphics and bookbinding remains influential. His contributions as an educator helped shape future generations of artists, and his recognition through various prestigious awards underscores the impact of his work in the field of graphic arts.

Each of Kempe's drawings is signed in pencil in the lower left corner, often with a monogram. His drawings, etchings, and lithographs frequently depict fishermen and coastal landscapes.

Kempe's legacy is preserved through the works that survived the war and the students he mentored throughout his career. His artistic style and technical prowess in etching and book arts continue to be celebrated and studied.

As stated above, Fritz Kempe served in the German army from 1943 to 1945. In what capacity is unknown. One thing is certain: he was primarily an artist and dedicated his free time from military service to painting. These are sketches of landscapes from the areas of Małaszewicze and Terespol, suggesting that he served in a military unit operating at the Małaszewicze airfield.


 

Małaszewicze (Terespol Community, Poland). Village street with farmhouses. Fritz Kempe (1943)

Today's Małaszewicze is located on the southern side of the railway tracks, where the first residents began to settle in 1924. The development of the new settlement was influenced by the establishment of a military airfield, located between the villages of Małaszewicze Duże and Małaszewicze Małe, the railway tracks, and the present-day Małaszewicze.

 Construction of the airfield and the aviation fuel base began in 1936. The location was chosen due to its central position in the country, low rainfall, and proximity to Brest. Elements of the Brest Fortress were used in the construction, including fuel tanks with a capacity of 278,000 liters placed in one of the forts. 


A bomber Łoś on a Polish stamp

The airfield had 14 hangars and a settlement for the military airfield staff and their families. Modern bombers such as the Łoś, belonging to the 220th Bomb Squadron among others, were stationed here, and they were equipped with radios in Małaszewicze. These aircraft became targets for Luftwaffe attacks on the first day of World War II. The bombings resulted in 40 casualties among the airfield personnel, leading to a decision to evacuate the airfield towards Romania.

 

Starting in 1940, the Germans rebuilt and expanded the airfield. This was made possible by the forced labor of about a thousand Jews from a labor camp existing in Małaszewicze Duże from 1942 to 1944. These Jewish forced laborers were executed in Kobylany in 1944. The Małaszewicze airfield had strategic significance for the Luftwaffe operating on the Eastern Front, particularly during Operation Barbarossa. Transport gliders like the Messerschmitt Me-321 and aircraft like the Messerschmitt Me-323 Gigant were stationed here. After World War II, the Małaszewicze military airfield first functioned as a Soviet airfield and from 1952 as a Polish airfield, before the aircraft and airfield personnel were relocated to Okęcie.

"Farm with a draw well" and Near Terespol (Polish Landscape)", Fritz Kempe (1943)


"By the river (Bug near Brest)"
River Landscape

      "Old willow tree by the Bug River (Eastern Poland)"







"By the river (Bug near Brest)"


Terespol Community, Village in Winter







Same landscapes as those painted by Kempe can still be seen, although there are fewer of these wooden cottages.







One of the drawings also depicts a church in Valozhyn near Minsk (Belarus). Valozhyn is a town in the Minsk Region of Belarus, located 75 km (47 mi) northwest of the capital Minsk.

The church was consecrated in the name of Saints Constantine and Helen on July 18, 1866. In 1875, a poorhouse was established at the Church of Saint Constantine and Helen.

 


In 1876, the church underwent major repairs, after which donations were collected for the improvement of the temple. In 1886, with the collected funds, the entire interior middle part of the church was paneled and painted with oil paint. On the ceiling above the altar, a painting in the form of a dove in radiance, representing the Holy Spirit, was created. Under the dome, an iconographer painted the image of the Holy Face of the Savior with two cherubim on either side.



Exlibris Martha (Marthel) Müller-Kempe, second wife of Fritz Kempe.



Fritz Kempe, Finsterthaler See (Lower Finsterthaler See), 1926

and Sunset at Lake Tegernsee, 1924








References:

- Kempe, Fritz, Sächsische Landesbibliothek Staats- Und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, Spezial Katalog zum schriftlichen Nachlass Fritz Kempe, Compiled by Kerstin Schellbach, 2007.

- https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Kempe_(Maler)

- radzima.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valozhyn

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