Willi Baumaister German abstract artist and art theorist. Date of Birth: 22.01.1889 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Willi Baumeister
2. Early Life and Education
3. 1919: Abstract-Geometric Style
4. 1930s: Archaic Abstractions
5. 1940s and Beyond: Late Works
6. Willi Baumeister passed away in Stuttgart in 1955 at the age of 66.

Biography of Willi Baumeister

Willi Baumeister was a German abstract artist and art theorist. He was one of the most significant German abstract artists, known for his development of a non-objective geometric style and later transitioning to a style characterized by the use of hieroglyphic symbols in the 1930s.

Early Life and Education

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Baumeister came from a family of craftsmen. In 1905, he began his training as a decorative artist while attending evening courses at the State Academy of Art in Stuttgart. After completing his studies in 1907, Baumeister joined an art studio where his teacher, Adolf Helzel, offered him and his classmates, Oscar Schlemmer and Herman Stenner, their first commissioned work - painting the walls of the German Workers' Union exhibition hall.

1919: Abstract-Geometric Style

Following the end of World War I, Baumeister returned to his hometown of Stuttgart. It was here that he created his "Frescoes" (1919-1923). These works combined architecture and painting in a constructivist composition of planes with harmonious forms. Baumeister mixed paints, sand, and putty to achieve a relief effect, applying the boards directly onto the walls. Each of his works during this period represented a continuous development of his previous ideas.

1930s: Archaic Abstractions

In the early 1930s, Baumeister abandoned figurative elements in favor of abstract forms in his paintings. His involvement in the group "Abstraction-Creation" confirmed his inclination towards non-representational art. With the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933, Baumeister was dismissed from his teaching position and returned to Stuttgart, where he worked as a typographer to make a living. Despite his works being labeled as "degenerate art" by the Nazis, Baumeister had the opportunity to exhibit his paintings abroad.

During the 1930s, Baumeister's style still bore the influence of archaic imagery, which he later distanced himself from as primitive art. This is evident in his series "Ideograms" (1937/38), where the spirit of hieroglyphic symbols and Asian calligraphy can be felt. His subsequent series, "Eidocartoons" (1938), featured organic and fluid forms.

1940s and Beyond: Late Works

In 1941, Baumeister was prohibited from exhibiting his works, and he had to rely on financial support from a patron. He later found employment at a paint factory where experiments with various painting and drawing techniques took place. From 1942 onwards, he created relief works such as the "African Paintings." In early 1943, Baumeister published "On the Unknown in Art," in which he formulated his theoretical reflections on art. This work became a programmatic document for abstractionism in 1947.

In 1946, Baumeister became a professor at the Stuttgart Academy of Art. In his later works, he explored mythological subjects, such as "Atlas" (1949), and offered his own interpretation of the epic "Gilgamesh." He then delved into creating "Metaphysical Landscapes," where joyful forms and colors were replaced by dark gray figures or hieroglyphics, hiding a mysterious essence that the observer could not fully comprehend. His last major series of paintings, created from 1953 to 1955, included "Montaru," "Monturi," "Aru," and "Khan I," with forms resembling paths carved into rocks. The dominant black color was accentuated by small spots along the edges of the canvas.

Willi Baumeister passed away in Stuttgart in 1955 at the age of 66.