German, 1885 Erfurt -1976 Wiesbaden
Otto Ritschl belongs to one of the major representatives of the German post war abstract painting. The former participant at documenta I and II had the privilege of a long life with more than 90 years of age, thus his oeuvre presents a summation of different directions that abstract art passed through in the middle of the last century. It spans a broad spectrum beginning stylistically with Expressionism of the revolutionary years after World War I, followed by phases of proximity to New Objectivity, a Surrealist-inspired abstraction in the 1930s, extending into a lyrical and thereafter geometrical abstraction in the 1940s and 1950s and culminating in the total dissolution of form in free color painting of his late work.
Vita
1885 born in
1891-1915 acts as a writer of various like several plays, among them “Der Rechnungsdirektor, performed at Thalia-Theatre,
1908-1920 employment as an office aid in Landesbank Wiesbaden
1918 first attemps in painting
1919 ceases writing and destroys his manuscripts
1920 meets Conrad Felixmüller, who portrayed him
elected to the board of directors of the Nassauischer Kunstverein
1923 elected as ombudsman for the artists guild of
begin of friendship to Alexej Jawlensky
1925 participation at the exhibition “Neue Sachlichkeit” in
1925-1933 chairman of the “Freie Künstlergemeinschaft Wiesbaden”
1926-1929 several trips to
becomes interested in synthetic Cubism and in Surrealism
1932 no more figural motifs
1933 exhibition at Museum Folkwang in
removal of his paintings by the National Socialists.
retreatment form public exposure and begin of painting in self-emigration
1934 meets Swami Yatisvarananda, who teaches him Vedanta
1937 removal of “degenerate art” including works by Ritschl by the Nazi’s
1939 employment as an administrative aide at the department of finance
1941-1944 prepares a manuscript for lecturing Vedanta
destruction of his study
1945 first water colours and gouaches after the war
1946 beginning of Ritschl’s friendship with Ernst Wilhelm Nay
meets Max Ackermann and collector Ottomar Domnick in
1948 membership in the “Rheinische Sezession”
1949 finishing of his manuscript on the history of philosophy (never published)
1950 member in “Neue Darmstädter Sezession”, Westdeutscher Künstlerbund, “Münchner Neue Gruppe”
1952 essay about „art in our times“
1954 participation in the “International Sezession” at Schloß Morsbroich
begin of Ritschl’s “geometric phase”
1955 participation at the Documenta I
participation at the exhibition “ZEN” in
award of the Goethe medal by the state of Hessen
solo exhibition at the Museum Wiesbaden
1959 participation at the Documenta II
1960 Villa Romana Prize award
Fresco at the
receives the German Meritorious Service Cross-1st class
1961 Solo exhibition at the von der Heydt-Museum in
1964 Fresco at the auditorium in the Landeshaus Wiesbaden
1965 medal of honour in gold from the city of
Television broadcasted portrait about Ritschl
Solo exhibition at the Mittelrhein-Museum in
1970 Solo exhibition at the Mittelrhein-Museum in
monograph edited by W. Mirus and texts by Dr. M. Velte
publication of aphorism entitled “Der springende Punkt”
1972 awarded the “Große Bundesverdienstkreuz”
1973 publication of the complete works index edited by W. Mirus
1975 Medal of Honour from the city of
1976 Ritschl dies on July 1st in
Museum of the 20. Century, Berlin
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt
Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg
City Museum, Hannover
Bezalel National Art Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Kaiser-Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld
Mittelrheinisches Landesmuseum Mainz
Bavarian State Art Collection, Munich
Lenbachhaus City Gallery, Munich
Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Oldenburg
Oldenburger City Museum, Oldenburg
State Gallery Stuttgart
Museum Wiesbaden
City Government
City Art Collection
Von der Heydt-Museum,
2007 An Hommage to Otto Ritschl, mbf-kunstprojekte,
2006 Museum
2001 Gallery Winter,
1997/1998 Museum Wiesbaden, Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal
1995/1996 HCM-Buildung,
1994 Gallery Schlichtenmeaier, Schloß Dätzingen
Kunstkabinet hanna Bekker von Rath, Frankfurt
1993 Gallery Gunzenhauser,
1992 Orangerie Reinz,
1990 Gallery Gunzenhauser,
Gallery im Preutenborkbeckshof Essen
1988
1985 Nassauischer Kunstverein,
Century Hall Höchst
1984 Gallery Baukunst,
1983 Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren
1982 Museum
Gallery Baukunst Cologne
1981 Kunstverein Bremerhaven
Oberhessisches Museum, Gießen
1980 Gallery Katrin Rabus, Bremen
1978 Hessische Landesvertretung Bonn
1977 Kunsthaus Zürich
Kunstverein Munich
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Gallery Baukunst,
1976 Kunstverein Frankfurt
BMW-Gallery,
Gallery Loehr,
1975 Kunstverein Munich
Gallery Loehr, Schloss Königstein
1974 City Museum Wiesbaden and Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden
1971 Kunstverein Kassel
Gallery Baukunst Cologne
1970 Mittelrhein-Museum Koblenz
1969 Gallery Maerklin, Stuttgart
Gallery TamS, Munich
1968 Neue Kunsthalle, Wilhelmshaven
Gallery Baukunst,
1967 Gallery Baukunst,
1966 Nassauischer Kunstverein,
Gallery Wendtorf, Oldenburg
Gallery Baukunst,
1965 Kunstverein Hannover
Mittelrhein-Museum Koblenz
1963 Gallery Maerklin, Stuttgart
Gallery Monmorency, Paris, France
Gallery Wendtorf, Oldenburg
1962 Gallery Apfelbaum,
Gallery Bodo Bratke, Schloß Ringenberg
1961
Von-der-Heydt-Musuem
Mannheimer Kunstverein
Gallery Wendtorf, Oldenburg
1960
1959 Gallery 59, Ascheffenburg
1958 Gallery Aumann, Düsseldorf
Gallery Springer,
1957 Kunstverein Oldenburg
1956 Kunstverein Frankfurt
Gallery Inge Ahlers,
1955 New Museum Wiesbaden
Frankfurter Kunstkabinett, Frankfurt
Haus am Dom,
1953 Kunstverein Heidelberg
1951 Frankfurter Kunstkabinett, Frankfurt
1950 Gallery Franz, Wiesbaden
Gallery Ursula Wentorf, Oldenburg
1948 City Museum Wuppertal
Kunstkabinett Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Frankfurt
Gallery Herbert Herrmann, Stuttgart
1947 Villa O. Domnick, Stuttgart
Gallery Vömel, Düsseldorf
Gallery Egon Günther,
1930 Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden
1923 Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden
1920 Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden
Group exhibitions (selection)
1987 ZEN 49. Kunsthalle Baden-Baden
1984 Abstrake Maler der Inneren Emigration, Museum Mainz
1945-1985. Kunst in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Nationalgalerie Berlin
1981 Hommage à Kurt Leonhard, Esslingen
1977 Die dreisiger Jahre-Schauplatz Deutschland, Haus der Kunst, München; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Kunsthaus, Zürich
1964 Tysk malerkunst I dag, Kopenhagen
1962 Deutsche Kunst, Buenos Aires, Santiago
1959 Arte alemana desde 1945, Museu de Arte moderne, Rio de Janeiro
1959 Documenta II, Kassel
1956 ZEN 49, Ohio Weseleyan University, Delaware, USA
International Secession, Leverkusen
1955 Documenta I, Kassel
Gruppe ZEN, Lenbachhaus, Munich
1954 Kunst unserer Zeit, Sammlung Ströher, Museum Darmstadt
1952 Sammlung Dr. O. Domnick. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
1951 Gegenstandslose Malerei aus Europa nd USA, Kunstverein Kassel
1950 Große Kunstausstellung,
1948 Moderne Deutsche Kunst, Bern
Rheinische Sezession, Düsseldorf
1947 Neue Deutsche Kunst, Kunsthalle Mainz
1946 Allgemeine Deutsche Kunstausstellung, Dresden
1933 Zeichen und Bilder, Museum Wiesbaden, Museum Folkwang,
1925 Neue Sachlicheit, Kunsthalle Mannheim
Publications (monographs)
Otto Ritschl 1885-1976, retrospective, catalogue of the exhibition at Museum Wiesbaden and Von der Heydt-Museum
Otto Ritschl. Das Gesamtwerk 1919-1972/1973-1976. edited by Wolff Mirus, introduction by Kurt Leonhard,