Horst Janssen

Horst Janssen
Janssen in his studio, 1968
Born	(1929-11-14)14 November 1929 Hamburg,Germany
Died	31 August 1995(1995-08-31)(aged 65) Hamburg, Germany
Education	Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg
Occupations	Draftsman Printmaker Poster artist Illustrator

Horst Janssen(14 November 1929 – 31 August 1995)was a Germandraftsman,printmaker,poster artistandillustrator.He had a prolific output ofdrawings,etchings,woodcuts,lithographsandwood engravings.

Janssen was a student ofAlfred Mahlauat theLandeskunstschule Hamburg.He first published in the newsweeklyDie Zeitin 1947. In the early 1950s, he started working inlithography,on an initiative ofAschaffenburgpaper manufacturerGuido Dessauer,using the technical facilities of a coloured paper factory. The first retrospective of Janssen's drawings and graphic works was shown in 1965, first in thekestnergesellschaftHanover, then in other German cities and inBasel.In 1966, he was awarded Hamburg'sEdwin Scharff Prize.International exhibitions followed. In 1968, he received the Grand Prize in graphic art at theVenice Biennale;in 1977, his works were shown at thedocumenta VIinKassel.

TheHorst Janssen Museumin his hometown ofOldenburgis dedicated to his legacy. His work is shown internationally in major museums.

His life was marked by numerous marriages, outspoken opinions, alcoholism, and selfless dedication to the art ofprintmaking.

Early life and education

Horst Janssen Museumin Oldenburg

Janssen was born inHamburg.His mother, Martha Janssen, was a dressmaker from Oldenburg; he never knew his father. Janssen was brought up by his mother and grandparents at Lerchenstraße 14, Oldenburg. He was adopted by his grandfather, and following his death, he was adopted by the Guardianship Court in 1939.

In 1942, he became a student at theNational Political Institute of Education(German:Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstaltornapola) inHaselünne,Emsland,where an art teacher,Hans Wienhausen,encouraged his artistic talent. His mother died in 1943. In 1944, he was adopted by his mother's younger sister, Anna Janssen, and he moved to Hamburg, where she lived. He lived with his Aunt Anna onBurchardstraßefor the remainder of the war and the postwar period. They later moved toWarburgstraße(Harvestehude). In 1946, at the age of sixteen, Janssen enrolled at theLandeskunstschule(regional art school) in Hamburg, where he studied withAlfred Mahlau,proving to be an outstanding pupil from the outset.

First publications

Janssen's first publication was a drawing in the weekly newspaperDie Zeitin 1947. The following year he published his first book, the children's bookSeid ihr alle da?(Are you all there?), withRolf Italiaander.In 1950 his first child, son Clemens, was born and he wrote and illustrated his second book,Der Wettlauf zwischen Hase und Igel auf der Buxtehuder Heide(The race between the hare and the hedgehog on the Buxtehude Heath), for the birthday of a little girl named Friederike Gutsche.It was published in a facsimile edition in 1973.

Janssen produced his firstwoodcuts,influenced byEdvard Munch.Dominant themes were animals along with man and woman. In 1952, he received a Lichtwark scholarship in Hamburg. Around the same time, he was forced to leave theLandeskunstschule.The following year, he was arrested after a drunken brawl and tried for murder. He was found innocent of the charge, but received a suspended sentence for drunkenness.

Lithography

In the early 1950s, he received a commission from the paper manufacturer Guido Dessauer for a portrait of his father-in-law, the diplomatFriedrich von Keller,followed by other portraits of family members.Janssen was able to create his firstlithographsusing the technical equipment of the Aschaffenburger Buntpapierfabrik.His early lithographs were shown in 2000 by theHamburger Kunsthalle.They included "Baumwall"(Tree Mound; 1957); his first self-portraits, such as" Selbst-innig "(Intimate with Self; 1966) and poster designs, influenced byBen Shan,for his own exhibitions.Another self-portrait, "Selbst singend"(Self, singing), shows the artist with wide open mouth, as if expressing"tiefe Welt- und Gottesverzweiflung"(profound despair about the world and God), according to a reviewer. He changed a lithograph byOskar Kokoschka,picturing himself upright, the other of two figures kneeling, titled "So liebt mich Oskar – Ja!"(Oskar loves me like that – Yes!). The exhibition also showed a piece, on which Janssen and his colleagueAndré Thomkinshad pictured each other, together with Thomkins' aphorism "Alles nicht wissen, heißt alles verzeihen"(To not know all means forgive all).

In 1955, he married Marie Knauer and in 1956, had a second child, a daughter, Katrin (nicknamed Lamme). During this period, he worked on a series of large-scale colorwoodcutsthat were displayed in his apartment in 1957. Janssen gained recognition and had an exhibition in Hanover in the Hans Brockstedt Gallery in 1957. After this successful show, he suddenly switched toetching,becoming a pupil ofPaul Wunderlich,whom he later considered a rival. His marriage to Marie ended in divorce in 1959. His art was now influenced byart brutandJean Dubuffet.A new marriage, to Birgit Sandner, was followed by a separation a few weeks later. The following year, 1960, he married Verena von Bethmann Hollweg who, in 1961, gave birth to his third child, a son named Philip.

Art Prize

In 1964, Horst Janssen was awarded theDarmstadtArt Prize. In 1965, a retrospective of his drawings and graphic works appeared in thekestnergesellschaftin Hanover. Wieland Schmied, the director of thekestnergesellschaftpraised him as "der größte Zeichner außer Picasso. Aber Picasso ist eine andere Generation"(" the greatest draftsman besides Picasso. But Picasso is a different generation ").His works were seen in the tradition ofGoya,Ensor,Klinger,Munch,RedonandKubin.Titles included "Totentanz"(Death Dance)," Idiot "," High Society ","Im Suff"(Sloshed), a self-portrait,"Twist tanzende Nutten"(Twist dancing hookers),"Klee und Ensor, um einen Bückling streitend"(KleeandEnsor,arguing over akipper,"Bückling"carrying the double meaning, both a smoked herring and a bowing) and"Peter Lorre oder einer, der aus Berufung die schöne Aussicht versperrt".The collection, the first major public display of his work, was also shown in Hamburg, Darmstadt, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Munich and Basel.

His position as a respected artist was bolstered by winning Hamburg'sEdwin Scharff Prizein 1966. The following year, two of the most important people of his youth died, his Aunt Anna and his teacher Alfred Mahlau. Janssen moved to Mühlenberger Weg inBlankenese.The following year, he was divorced from his third wife. His art now dealt with the losses of these years. He won first prize for graphic art at the 1968Venice Biennale.He began a love affair with Gesche Tietjens. A trip with her toSvanshall,Skåne County,in southern Sweden led to many beautiful drawings of the coastlines. His concentration on landscapes was supported by his return to etching. In 1972, he separated from Tietjen, then pregnant with his child, Adam. In 1973, he had a love affair with Bettina Sartorius. In 1975, he won another prize, theSchiller Prize of the City of Mannheim,where his large drawing retrospective was organized in 1976. In 1977, his work was shown at thedocumenta VIin Kassel, in 1980 at theArt Institute of Chicago,in 1982 at Vienna'sAlbertina.

The city ofOldenburgmade him an honorary citizen in 1992.

Horst Janssen died in Hamburg on 31 August 1995 and was buried in Oldenburg in Gertruden Cemetery.

Awards

• 1950(1950):Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
• 1952(1952):Lichtwark scholarship,Hamburg(in German)
• 1964(1964):Kunstpreis der Stadt Darmstadt
• 1965(1965):Edwin Scharff Prize,Hamburg
• 1968(1968):Great prize of theVenice Biennale
• 1975(1975):Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim
• 1978(1978):Biermann Ratjen Medal,Hamburg(in German)
• 1992(1992):Honorary citizenship of Oldenburg
• 2000(2000):Opening of theHorst Janssen Museumin Oldenburg

Legacy

During Janssen's lifetime, his work was shown internationally, for example, in Basel (1966), London (1970), Zürich, Oslo, Göteborg (all in 1971), New York (1974), Turin (1975), Cambridge, Barcelona, Lugano (all 1976), Chicago (1980), travelling exhibition in Japan (1982), travelling exhibition in the U.S. (1983–1985) and Nowosibirsk (1985). More recently, his work has been shown at major museums, such as theRembrandt House Museumin Amsterdam (2008). An exhibition at theLeopold Museumin Vienna in 2004, "Egon Schiele / Horst Janssen", explored his work in relation to the art ofEgon Schiele.

In 2000, theHorst Janssen Museum,an art museum, was opened in Oldenburg. Special exhibitions there have explored his work in relation to other artists, such asGoya.He is represented in theSammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland(Collection of contemporary art of the Federal Republic of Germany) in Bonn.

A biography,Horst Janssen – Eine Biographie(1984), was written byStefan Blessin,who in 1992, addedHorst Janssen – Aus dem Dunkel ins Licht( "Horst Janssen – From Darkness into Light" ). In 2001, Janssen's friendJoachim FestpublishedHorst Janssen. Selbstbildnis von fremder Hand( "Horst Janssen. Self-Portrait in a Foreign Hand" ) and in 2006,Die schreckliche Lust des Auges. Erinnerungen an Horst Janssen( "The Horrible Pleasure of the Eye. Memories of Horst Janssen" ). Janssen's own memoirs were published in 2006 by Gesche Tietjens, titledSumma summarum: Ein Lebenslesebuch( "Summary of Summaries, a Book of Life Reader" ).

Catalogues

• Wieland Schmied, Carl Vogel:Horst Janssen(with a catalogue of graphic art to 1965 by Carl Vogel),kestnergesellschaft1965
• Plakat-Kunst-Stücke,1995,Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg,ISBN3-923848-81-1
• Selbst: Gewörtert,1995,Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg,ISBN3-923848-63-3
• Drawings and etchings,Claude Bernard Gallery, New York, St. Gertrude, Hamburg, 1991,ISBN3-923848-35-8
• Das Portrait,1999,Germanisches Nationalmuseum,ISBN3-923848-78-1
• Frühe Meisterschaft,1999, Janssen KabinettHamburger Kunsthalle,ISBN3-922909-47-7
• Uwe Schneede:Zwiesprache – Anspielung und Kopie,St. Gertrude, Hamburg, 1995,ISBN3-923848-54-4
• Hanno's Tod,1997,Hamburger Kunsthalle,ISBN3-923848-71-4
• Hokusai´s Spaziergang,1998,Hamburger Kunsthalle,ISBN3-923848-76-5
• Katze blau – 100 Holzschnitte,2000,Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-923848-91-9
• Janssen sieht Goya,2001, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-923848-95-1
• Janssen und die Frauen,2002, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-923848-96-X
• Krickelkrakeln und Uhupappen,2002, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-935855-01-X
• Horst Janssen und sein Drucker Hartmut Frielinghaus,2003,Hamburger Kunsthalle,ISBN3-935855-05-2
• Kunst der Zeichnung,2003 Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-935855-02-8
• Egon Schiele – Horst Janssen,2004, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-935855-06-0
• Gegen die Zeit gezeichnetBlumen und andere Stillleben von Horst Janssen,2005, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN3-89995-257-X
• Horst Janssen und Rembrandt,"Nach IHM Porträts und Landschaften",2008, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN978-3-89995-497-5
• Schon wieder Perlen!,Horst Janssen Sammlung Meyer-Schomann, 2008, Horst Janssen Museum,ISBN978-3-89995-528-6
• Graphische Naturgewalten – Simon Prades trifft Horst Janssen.AK der Galerie Neosyne, Bd.1, Trier,2011, ISSN 2192-8401
• Horst Janssen, Das Tier,Verlag St. Gertrude, 1995,ISBN3-923848-64-1

External links

• Literature by and about Horst Janssenin theGerman National Librarycatalogue
• Horst Janssenart directory
• Horst JanssenKetterer Kunst
• Joachim Fest:Ein Mensch, wie ihn keine Fantasie erdenken konnteBerliner Zeitung14 April 2001(in German)
• Horst Janssen Museum Oldenburg / The many facets of a multitalented artistHorst Janssen Museum Oldenburg
• Horst JanssenatFind a Grave