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ON THE TRAIL OF FEININGER in the Weimarer Land region

(1871 - 1956)

 

The Weimarer Land region is paying tribute to Lyonel Feininger , the German-American painter and illustrator, and one of the first Bauhaus masters.

Between 1906 and 1937, he would often venture into the countryside around Weimar on foot or by bicycle for work or study. The characteristically pointed and crooked churches and bridges in the region captured his imagination. This architecture represented for him a sense of authenticity that he had long sought in the German landscape, yet not been able to find.

 

He rhapsodised to artist peers such as Alfred Kubin: "The villages, certainly more than 100 in the surrounding area, are magnificent!"

 

Only too familiar are his village scenes of Gelmeroda - they are among the core pieces of his work, which can be found scattered all over the world in museums and private collections. Many more paintings, pencil drawings, wood carvings and hundreds of so-called ‘nature notes' (small quick sketches) show churches, bridges and village centres in places such as Kromsdorf, Mellingen, Possendorf, Vollersroda and Zottelstedt.

 

  Einweihung Feininger-Pultaufsteller

The artworks are predominantly named after the respective locations and numbered.

 

   

Selected works in the Weimarer Land region

  • 1913 Gelmeroda I, (Privat, New York)
  • 1917 Denstedt
  • 1920 Kirche von Mellingen
  • 1935 Kirche von Vollersroda
  • 1936 Gelmeroda XIII, (Metropolitan Museum of Art, George A. Hearn)

The Thuringian towns and villages represented a lifelong source of motifs for Feininger, even in the period when he returned to his hometown of New York.

 

Visitors can follow in the footsteps of the German-American artist along the Feininger Cycle Route. A special Feininger brochure guides art aficionados to the places that were once Feininger's inspiration and gives a real insight into the artist's work.

 

This colourful flyer is full of information on exploring the surrounding area by bicycle or car to see what Feininger saw. The Weimarer Land region is Feininger country! Get to know his favourite subjects in our picturesque villages.