Heinrich Thannhauser
German art dealer
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Heinrich Thannhauser (16 February 1859 – 24 November 1924) was a German art dealer and collector who was amongst the most important patrons of expressionism in Germany. He was the father of Justin Thannhauser.
16 February 1859
Heinrich Thannhauser | |
|---|---|
Thannhauser portrayed by Lovis Corinth | |
| Born | Heinrich Thannhauser 16 February 1859 Hürben, German Empire |
| Died | 24 November 1934 (aged 75) Lucerne, Switzerland |
| Occupations | Art dealer, art collector, patron |
| Partner |
Charlotte Nachtigall
(m. 1891; died 1910) |
| Children | Justin |
Early life and education
Thannhauser was born 16 February 1859 in Hürben (presently Krumbach), the third of six children, to Jonas Thannhauser (1833–1890), a sawn goods merchant, and Michle "Mina" Thannhauser (she had the same surname although they were not recently related). This was a Jewish family and many records for them can be found in the Jewish records for Hürben at the Leo Baeck Institute including his "birth record in Huerben". Originally, Thannhauser completed an apprenticeship and became a made-to-measure tailor and operated his own store for women's clothing from 1885 to 1897. In 1901, he founded an industrial company manufacturing bulbs and lamps, which was operational until 1903.
Art career
He founded his Munich Modern Gallery (Moderne Galerie)in 1904.[1] At first he exhibited the artworks of French Impressionists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Paul Gauguin. Later works by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were added.
In 1909, Thannhauser separated from his partner Franz Josef Brakl and continued to run the gallery under the name Galerie Thannhauser.[2] The first exhibition of the Neue Künstlervereinigung München took place in the Arco-Palais in the same year. In 1911 he began collaborating with Der Blaue Reiter.[3] In 1918 he had himself painted in Berlin simultaneously by Lovis Corinth and by Max Liebermann; the one he sat for a portrait in the morning, the other in the afternoon.
In 1920 his nephew Siegfried Rosengart opened a branch of the gallery in Lucerne.[4]
In 1934 in attempting to flee from the Nazis to Switzerland, Thannhauser died of a stroke at the border.
Personal life
On 26 May 1891, Thannhauser married Charlotte Nachtigall, originally of Nuremberg, at Heidingsfeld (presently a part of Wurzburg). They had one son;
- Justin Karl Thannhauser (1892–1976), who became one of the most important European art dealers,[4] married firstly to Käthe "Kate" Levi (1894–1960) with whom he had two sons, secondly to Hilde Breitwisch (1919–1991). All the European holdings were lost by confiscation of the Nazis. In 1941, he was able to flee to the United States, where he settled in New York City and continued in the art business.[5] His daughter, Gertrude "Trude" Beyer (née Thannhauser; 1921–2015), was also an art collector.[6]
Thannhauser died on 24 November 1935 in Lucerne, Switzerland aged 76.[5]
Literature
- Mario-Andreas von Lüttichau: Die Moderne Galerie Heinrich Thannhauser in München. In: Henrike Junge (Hrsg.): Avantgarde und Publikum: Zur Rezeption avantgardistischer Kunst in Deutschland 1905–1933. Böhlau, Köln, Weimar, Wien 1992.
- Thannhauser. Händler, Sammler, Stifter. Hrsg. v. Zentralarchiv des internationalen Kunsthandels e. V. ZADIK und SK Stiftung Kultur der Sparkasse KölnBonn. Sediment – Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Kunsthandels, 11. Verlag für Moderne Kunst, Nürnberg 2006
- Emily D. Bilski: Die „Moderne Galerie“ von Heinrich Thannhauser / The „Moderne Galerie“ of Heinrich Thannhauser. Sammelbilder / Collecting Images, 6. Minerva, München 2008. (Zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung. Jüdisches Museum München, 30. Januar 2008 – 25. Mai 2008.)
