Appeal for donations last chance for Campendonk
Will the "Blaue Reiter" remain in Bavaria?
Will the "Blaue Reiter" remain in Bavaria?
Munich, 22 March 2010, (kk) – The Penzberg city council decided to refuse the acquisition of the estate of the artist Heinrich Campendonk in a crucial vote on 16 March 2010. With an 11:11 stand-off the decision could not have been any more tight. However, Penzberg will continue to try to save the works.
Heinrich CampendonkKreuzigung/Gaukler, ca. 1912,
watercolour and opaque colour
on paper, 46 x 40 cm
Bitte bei Abdruck Rechte bei VG Bildkunst einholen.
Heinrich Campendonk, whose estate was offered to the city for some € 4,1 million, was the youngest member of the artists group "Blauer Reiter". As early as in 1933 he decided to emigrate, since he had been defamed as a so-called "degenerate artist" and refused to show his expressionist paintings after World War II. Today his works make for results beyond the one million mark in international auctions. Campendonk depicted the mining town Penzberg in several paintings in 1918/19. Thus there is a clear relation between the town and the artist, as even a draft of the city's coat of arms can be found in one of his works. The watercolor "Penzberger Reiter" shows a self-explanatory counter-image of Saint George as the "Blaue Reiter".
Said Robert Ketterer, owner of Ketterer Kunst, on that issue: "It would be a severe loss if the public was deprived of this unique oeuvre and if it simply went piece by piece into the safes of private collectors". For that reason, and also because the collection in Penzberg is a heart matter to him as a Munich native, he supports a private initiative of art-enthused Penzberg citizens that share the common aim to save the estate for their town. "It is particular here in this region on the foothill of the Alps, where the Murnau Schlossmuseum, the Gabriele Münter house, the Franz Marc-Museum in Kochel and the Buchheim-Museum in Bernried already make for an internationally renowned museum quartet, that a Campendonk-Museum would perfectly round off the expressionist realm", continued Ketterer.
The part of Heinrich Campendonk's estate that is up for sale comprises 89 works. Besides eight oil paintings, its largest section consists of watercolours, reverse glass paintings and India ink drawings. Bavarian and international subsidies amounting to some € 1,4 million are available, further applications have been made. The city has been offered two loans worth € 1,8 million that would be interest-free for five years and could close the current € 2,6 million gap, however, in the long run the city would have to be responsible for repayments. The decision to build a new museum was made under different financial circumstances in 2006, and poses the next great challenge.
The city of Penzberg is already in possession of 40 works by Heinrich Campendonk. Particularly worthwhile mentioning is the window in the local parish church with a depiction of the Passion, for which he was awarded the Grand Prix in the 1937 Paris World exhibition, competing against Picasso's "Guernica". Together with the estate, this inventory would make for a solid fundament for the Campendonk Museum.
Meanwhile Krefeld, the artist's native town, has become interested in his estate and the curators of the Lenbachhaus in Munich and the Schlossmuseum Murnau also prick their ears.
The future of the Penzberg paintings of Campendonk is cloudy, just as it is the case with the estate. For a long time the head of the municipal culture office Thomas Sendl and the director of the municipal museum Gisela Geiger had tried to increase the collection, but art dealers are already queuing to bring the current inventory to the market.
Said Robert Ketterer, owner of Ketterer Kunst, on that issue: "It would be a severe loss if the public was deprived of this unique oeuvre and if it simply went piece by piece into the safes of private collectors". For that reason, and also because the collection in Penzberg is a heart matter to him as a Munich native, he supports a private initiative of art-enthused Penzberg citizens that share the common aim to save the estate for their town. "It is particular here in this region on the foothill of the Alps, where the Murnau Schlossmuseum, the Gabriele Münter house, the Franz Marc-Museum in Kochel and the Buchheim-Museum in Bernried already make for an internationally renowned museum quartet, that a Campendonk-Museum would perfectly round off the expressionist realm", continued Ketterer.
The part of Heinrich Campendonk's estate that is up for sale comprises 89 works. Besides eight oil paintings, its largest section consists of watercolours, reverse glass paintings and India ink drawings. Bavarian and international subsidies amounting to some € 1,4 million are available, further applications have been made. The city has been offered two loans worth € 1,8 million that would be interest-free for five years and could close the current € 2,6 million gap, however, in the long run the city would have to be responsible for repayments. The decision to build a new museum was made under different financial circumstances in 2006, and poses the next great challenge.
The city of Penzberg is already in possession of 40 works by Heinrich Campendonk. Particularly worthwhile mentioning is the window in the local parish church with a depiction of the Passion, for which he was awarded the Grand Prix in the 1937 Paris World exhibition, competing against Picasso's "Guernica". Together with the estate, this inventory would make for a solid fundament for the Campendonk Museum.
Meanwhile Krefeld, the artist's native town, has become interested in his estate and the curators of the Lenbachhaus in Munich and the Schlossmuseum Murnau also prick their ears.
The future of the Penzberg paintings of Campendonk is cloudy, just as it is the case with the estate. For a long time the head of the municipal culture office Thomas Sendl and the director of the municipal museum Gisela Geiger had tried to increase the collection, but art dealers are already queuing to bring the current inventory to the market.
On contrary, Robert Ketterer makes an appeal for donations. Relevant accounts are listed below:
| Bürgerinitiative Ankauf Campendonk | Stadt Penzberg |
|---|---|
| Vereinigte Sparkassen im Landkreis Weilheim | Vereinigte Sparkassen im Landkreis Weilheim |
| Account no.: 32105280 | Account no: 300020 |
| BIN: 70351030 | BIN: 70351030 |
| Press inquiries at Ketterer Kunst: | at the Stadtmuseum Penzberg : |
|---|---|
| Michaela Derra M.A. | Gisela Geiger, Leiterin Stadtmuseum Penzberg |
| Joseph-Wild-Str. 18 | Rathaus, Karlstr.25 |
| D-81829 Munich | D-82377 Penzberg |
| phone: +49-(0)89-55244-152 (fax: -177) | phone: +49-(0)8856–813481 (fax: -813109) |
| email: m.derra@kettererkunst.de | email: gisela.geiger@penzberg.de |
| www.kettererkunst.com | www.museum-penzberg.de |
Contact
Michaela Derra, M.A.
Ketterer Kunst GmbH & Co. KG
z. Hd. Michaela Derra
Joseph-Wild-Str. 18
81829 Munich
Tel.: +49 89 55 244 152
m.derra@kettererkunst.de
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