- Ewald Mataré
Ewald Wilhelm Hubert Mataré (
February 25 ,1887 in Burtscheid, Aachen –March 28 ,1965 in Büderich) was a German painter andsculptor , who dealt with, among other things, the figures of men and animals in a stylized form.Career
Mataré began his instruction as an artist at the
Akademie der Künste inBerlin in 1907. He was a student of Prof.Julius Ehrentraut (b. 1841),Lovis Corinth (1858-1925), and History painterArthur Kampf . In 1918, he joined theNovember Group . Mataré first dedicated himself to sculpture after finishing his painting studies A great part of his sculpted work are of animal figures.In 1932 he received a professorship at the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf . After theMachtergreifung of 1933; however, all cultural and artistic life in Germany was suppressed by theNazi s and Mataré was expelled. Declared "Degenerate Art ", his public sculptures were destroyed and his sole source of income became commissions from the church.After the war, Mataré was asked to become the director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, but he quickly resigned because he felt there were still too many professors at the Akademie who had been actively teaching there during the
Third Reich . Furthermore, no one was interested in his ambitious reform plans, which would have allowed fourteen-year-olds to study at the Akademie. Mataré's most famous student, besidesErwin Heerich andGeorg Meistermann , wasJoseph Beuys . During the post-war era, Mataré took many commissions from the public sector; he also worked on many churches, e.g. he built four doors for the south portal of theCologne Cathedral .Private Life
At 37 years old, Mataré entered into a deep depression. Nevertheless, in 1922 he married the 31-year-old Hanna Hasenbäumer. With her he had a daughter, Sonja Beatrice (b.
9 August 1926 ). Mataré died in 1965 from apulmonary embolism .His nephew Herbert Franz Mataré (born 1912) is a German physicist and co-inventor of the "european
transistor " 1948.Awards
*1914 Silver Medal at the
Akademie der Künste inBerlin .
*1952Thorn Prikker Prize from the city ofKrefeld
*1955 Gold medal at theTriennale in Mailand
*1957Stefan Locher Medal from the City ofCologne
*1958 Großes Verdienstkreuz of theFederal Republic of Germany Works
Mataré's most famous works include:
*Doors of the south portal ofCologne Cathedral
*Doors of the Church of Peace inHiroshima
*Altar design in St. Andreas Church in Düsseldorf
*The entire interior of St. Rochus Church in Düsseldorf (partially destroyed, lost)
*The phoenix in theNorth Rhine-Westphalia Parliament ("Landtag") building
*The pigeon fountain in front of Cologne Cathedral
*Entrance gate and windows of theKunstakademie Düsseldorf
*Portal of St. Lambertus Basilica in Düsseldorf
*Façade as well as Portal and Balcony at the Essen Minster Schatzhaus.
*Façade of Haus Atlantis inBremen
*Soldier Memorial inCleves
*His last large project (1965): Entrance doors and décor of the chapal at the Catholic Social Institute (KSI) of theArchdiocese of Cologne inBad Honnef . Matare's work varies from the pleasing simplicity of his animal forms in which he explores shape and line, to the profound spirituality of his religious works. Even those not religiously inclined cannot fail to be deeply moved by many of these works. In them, he expresses what is best in the human spirit. A recent (2006) exhibition of his work in Salzburg, Austria demonstrated the heights which his work could achieve. It is remarkable that an artist of such power is not better known internationally.References
*The information in this article is based on a translation of its German equivalent.
External links
* [http://www.ludorff.com/ap/matare/mataree.html Biography & Available works by Ewald Mataré]
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