3 June – 29 August 2010 Hermann Obrist ART NOUVEAU SCULPTOR

Hermann Obrist (1862–1927) made a major contribution to European art at the turn of the 20th century, through his innovative designs in two and three dimensions. He enjoyed the new freedoms of the Jugendstil movement, the German Art Nouveau, which sought to blend the sophisticated craftsmanship of the decorative arts with the aesthetic aspirations of the fi ne arts. This is the fi rst retrospective exhibition of his work, which until now has only been partially understood.

The exhibition brings together all aspects of Obrist’s art. It includes three-dimensional works, photographs, drawings, notes and source illustrations which together show the development of his ideas.

The exhibition is divided into three sections, concentrating on Obrist’s decorative work for an indoor environment; on his utopian plaster models; and on his monumental outdoor commissions.

Originated by the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich and Graphische Sammlung in Munich, the exhibition has been accompanied by a collaborative research exercise dedicated to Obrist’s oeuvre. The fi ndings of this project will be presented at a conference at the Institute on 26th June. A fully illustrated bi-lingual catalogue, including essays and the fi rst publication of Obrist’s autobiographical sketch, ‘A Happy Life’, is available at reception. Hermann Obrist as Art Nouveau designer: nature as inspiration

Like other Art Nouveau artists, Obrist drew upon nature for his work. However, he was not so much interested in representing the outward appearance of natural forms as in expressing their inner workings – those internal forces, which manifest themselves as movement and growth.

Obrist was deeply involved in both the natural and spiritual worlds, having originally studied medicine but also having been affected by supernatural visions since childhood. He was a passionate naturalist, and made frequent expeditions into the countryside to collect specimens to examine under the microscope. He also amassed books on natural history and kept cuttings from magazines and journals, which he used as source material for his work.

All these infl uences are apparent in Obrist’s notes and drawings, many of which are displayed in the exhibition for the fi rst time. Here, he explored details from nature and reworked photographs of natural phenomena. He also illustrated his own imaginings.

Obrist was particularly acclaimed for his embroidery designs, made in his own workshop by a team of Italian needlewomen. Their patterns were often based on simple plant forms, such as grasses or lichen, but rather than present them as static images he suggested their metamorphosis through the use of layered stitches and light- refl ecting yarns. Few of his embroideries survive, and they are represented here mostly through photographs. Hermann Obrist as visionary: architectural projects in plaster

Around 1900, Obrist’s main focus shifted from indoors to outdoors. The embroideries, furniture and artefacts of his early years were overtaken by memorials and monumental structures for outdoor locations, including tombs, urns, fountains and free-standing sculptures. The latter were unlike anything else seen in their day – part decorative object, part abstract sculpture, part architectural edifi ce. The plaster models displayed here are all that survive of this oeuvre, having been rescued from Obrist’s studio by his daughters in 1944, shortly before the bombardment of Munich during World War II.

What was important to Obrist was the sense of vitality and energy conveyed by an object, not only in its structure – “everything spirals, radiates, swirls” – but also in its surface texture. Through the sophisticated carving and modelling, he created intense contrasts between light and shade. He also worked each section of the surface in a different way in order to stimulate the sense of touch. Thus, his objects reveal new aspects of themselves to viewers as they move around. For instance, when circling ‘Possible Model of an Urn in the Form of a Capital’, a series of natural forms become visible, including crystals, mussels, and waves. Hermann Obrist as monumental designer: tombs and fountains

From 1898, Obrist created around thirty monumental fountains and memorials for patrons across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Some have since been altered or destroyed, but others have been rediscovered only recently. They are considered his invisible masterpieces, documented at the time through photographs commissioned by the artist himself.

These large outdoor projects occupy a middle ground between sculpture and architecture, each one designed for a particular site and function. As Obrist described: “What matters in a monumental fountain is that the water sprays forth in abundance from waterspouts that are both rational and beautiful, and that it plunges down from an effective height into an interesting basin, in which its springs and eddies can be seen and enjoyed.”

Between 1900 and 1914, memorials accounted for the greater part of Obrist’s creative output. He made an important contribution to the establishment of a new iconography for tomb architecture, in which forms derived from nature were used to convey organic power and thus life itself. His monuments also show the infl uence of Gothic, Moorish and even Indian architecture, which he believed were inspired by “higher powers of cosmic creativity”. 1896 First embroidery works are exhibited at the Kunstsalon Littauer in Hermann Obrist: biography Munich, establishing Obrist’s reputation as an Art Nouveau designer.

1898 Co-founds the Associated Workshops for Art in Crafts in Munich. Marries Marie-Luise Lampe of Leipzig.

1862 Born in Kilchberg on Lake Zurich on 27 May, the second of four children, 1900 Exhibits and lectures widely in Germany on applied arts and is to the Swiss physician Carl Kaspar Obrist and Scottish noblewoman awarded a gold medal for embroidery at the Paris World Exhibition. Alice Jane Grant Duff of Eden. Daughter Leila is born (she disappears in 1947). 1875 Experiences the fi rst of many supernatural visions upon the death of 1901 Exhibits 22 sculptures at the 1st Exhibition of Art in Crafts at the his elder brother. Alte Nationalmuseum in Munich (now the Museum of Ethnology), 1876 Moves to Weimar with his mother following parents’ separation. and a selection of fountains and urns in the atrium of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin (now the Martin-Gropius-Bau). 1885 Enrols as a student of Medicine & Natural Sciences at Heidelberg University. Daughter Amaranth is born. 1886 6 May; is struck by the fi rst of his ‘city’ visions, in which he sees houses, complete with interiors, gardens and fountains, as well as cemeteries 1902 Founds the Teaching- and Experimental- Studios for Applied and with wooded tombstones. Produces fi rst sketches as a result. Free Arts in Munich with Wilhelm von Debschitz. 1887 After becoming disenchanted with his studies, embarks on a career as 1903 Publishes collected essays and lectures, titled New Possibilities of an artist. Travels fi rst to England and then Scotland, the ancestral home the Visual Arts. of his mother, where he discovers the Arts & Crafts movement. This is followed by a brief attendance at the Karlsruhe Academy of Applied Arts 1904 Is awarded a gold medal for a buckle design at the World Exhibition and an apprenticeship as a potter in Jena, Central Germany. in St. Louis, USA. Abandons teaching due to hearing problems and 1890 Is accepted as a student of Sculpture at the Académie Julian in Paris, overwork and devotes himself to sculpture. During this period Obrist where he encounters the work of Auguste Rodin. Begins to make fi rst produces many of his greatest works, including the Krupp Fountain portrait busts and wall-mounted fountains. and Movement.

1892 Moves to Florence to practice as a sculptor. Here he learns the art of 1914 Collaborates with the architect Henry van de Velde on the Werkbund marbling and meets the American art historian Bernard Berenson and exhibition in Cologne. During World War I, increasingly withdraws from his partner, the art critic Mary Smith Costelloe. Establishes an public life and is dogged by serious illnesses, including cerebral embroidery studio with his mother’s companion, Berthe Ruchet. anaemia and peripheral neuralgia. 1895 Relocates to Munich and works on the construction of an artist’s residence on Carl-Theodor-Strasse 24 in Schwabing, completed in 1896. 1919 Participates in the Exhibition for Unknown Architects at the The studio furnishings, made according to Obrist’s own designs and Graphisches Kabinett Neu mann in Berlin. those of Bernhard Pankok and Richard Riemerschmid, become the foundations of Jugendstil – the German Art Nouveau movement. 1927 Dies in Munich on 26 February.