(Mengeringhausen, 6.6.1887 - Rhaunen, 11.8.1974)
Albin Edelhoff was a Cologne painter and graphic artist who spent most of his life immersed in the hustle and bustle of the city. He developed his skills while studying in Berlin and Paris. He was forced to stop painting due to his conscription into World War I. He fought on the Eastern and Western Fronts, but the war did not significantly affect the artist's expression. He remained committed to the pre-war tradition and continued to insist on floral motifs, still lifes and landscapes.
With his artwork, he wanted to cheer up the art audience and give them hope for a brighter future. He was a good draftsman and a skilled painter. Most of the time he created with oil paints, which he applied to the canvas in clean and clear lines. With the help of shading and lighting, he achieved another virtual component in his two-dimensional compositions. He also occasionally painted portraits. He produced a series of famous men from the German past, such as Ludwig van Beethoven. In the second phase of his work, the artist consciously distanced himself from early expressionism and turned primarily to new reality and magical realism.
Although Edelhoff's motifs are often statically captured in time and space, his paintings often offered a glimpse into the living outside world. The still lifes created during this time are more somber and calm. His drawing is often realistic, but by overlapping the layers of colour in style, he indicated an interest in impressionism. During this time, he also left Germany several times and explored Italy, Greece, France and North Africa. On the way, he often sketched and painted in watercolour. In 1937, he opened his art studio in a yellow house in Cologne. There, he painted in the company of his colleagues, such as Hubert Berke, Severin Dux and Heinrich Hoerle. Together with them, he founded the Association of Visual Artists of the Reich. During the Nazi era, he produced a series of images that reveal the idyllic German landscape.
Together with his wife Hildegard Blatt, he moved to Rhaunen in 1965. There he focused on the German countryside, which helped him distance himself from the Cologne art scene. In his new environment, he continued to paint with oil on canvas, but also produced prints and pastels. He participated in several exhibitions throughout his life and was well received by art critics.
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Albin Edelhoff je bil kölnski slikar in grafik, ki je bil večino svojega življenja vpet v mestni vrvež. Svoje spretnosti je razvil med šolanjem v Berlinu in Parizu. Zaradi vpoklica v 1. svetovno vojno je bil primoran prenehati s slikanjem. Boril se je na vzhodni in zahodni fronti, ne glede na to pa vojna ni bistveno zaznamovala umetnikovega izraza. Ostal je zavezan predvojni tradiciji in je še naprej vztrajal pri cvetličnih motivih, tihožitjih in krajini.
S svojimi umetninami je želel razvedriti likovno občinstvo in mu dati upanje za svetlejšo prihodnost. Bil je dober risar in spreten slikar. Večino časa je ustvarjal z oljnimi barvami, ki jih je v čistih in jasnih linijah nanašal na platno. S pomočjo senčenja in svetljenja je v njegovih dvodimenzionalnih kompozicijah dosegel še eno navidezno komponento. Občasno je tudi portretiral. Izdelal je serijo slavnih mož iz nemške preteklosti npr. Ludwiga van Beethovna. V drugi fazi ustvarjanja se je umetnik zavestno oddaljil od zgodnjega ekspresionizma in se je zatekel predvsem k novi stvarnosti in magičnemu realizmu.
Čeprav so Edelhoffovi motivi večkrat statično ujeti v času in prostoru, je v slikah večkrat ponudil pogled v živi zunanji svet. Tihožitja, ki so nastala v tem času so bolj mračna in umirjena. Njegova risba je sicer večkrat realistična pa vendar je s prekrivanjem barvnih nanosov v slogu nakazal zanimanje za impresionizem. V tem času se je večkrat odpravil tudi iz Nemčije in raziskoval Italijo, Grčijo, Francijo ter severno Afriko. Na poti je večkrat skiciral in slikal v akvarel tehniki. Leta 1937 je v rumeni hiši v Kölnu odprl svoj umetniški atelje. Tam je slikal v družbi svojih kolegov npr. Huberta Berkeja, Severina Duxa in Heinricha Hoerleja. Skupaj z njimi je ustanovil združenje vizualnih umetnikov Reicha. V času nacizma je izdelal serije podob, ki odstirajo idilično nemško krajino.
Skupaj z ženo Hildegard Blatt se je leta 1965 preselil v Rhaunen. Tam se je osredotočil na nemško pokrajino, ki mu je pomagala pri oddaljitvi od kölnske umetnostne sfere. V novem okolju je še vedno slikal z oljem na platno, izdeloval pa je tudi grafike in pastele. V svojem življenju je večkrat sodeloval na razstavah in je bil dobro sprejet med umetnostno kritiko.
Besedilo je za galerijo Porta Alpina pripravila Pia Župevec, dipl. um. zgod.
The text was prepared for the Porta Alpina gallery by Pia Župevec, B.Sc. art history
SOURCES/VIRI:
Lambert M. SURHONE-MariamSusan F. HENSSONOW T. TENNOE, Albin Edelhoff, 2010.
Roland WIDDER, Kunsthandel Widder, Dunaj 2020, pp. 83-85. Dostopno na povezavi: https://www.kunsthandelwidder.com/images/publications/pdf/publication_AC163E7E_sichtweisen.pdf (12.12.2024).
https://www.morebooks.de/shop-ui/shop/product/978-613-3-31076-6 (12.12.2024)
https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/bassenge/catalogue-id-bassenge10021/lot-abcf9e4c-27b8-40cf-9f71-aa4801548728 (12.12.2024)
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