Hans Unger

Karl Friedrich Johannes (Hans) Unger (Bautzen, 26-08-1872 - Dresden 13-08-1936) was a German painter who was, during his lifetime, a highly respected fin de siecle artist. His popularity did not survive the change in the artistic climate in Germany after World War I, and after his death he was soon forgotten. However, in the 1980's interest in his work revived, and a grand retrospective exhibition in 1997 in the City Museum in Freital, Germany, duly restored his reputation as one of the masters of the Dresden art scene around 1900.

Trademark and artistic influences

Unger was a portraitist and a landscape painter but his reputation stems from his paintings, most of them oil on canvas and nearly life-size, of "beautiful women dreaming of Arcadia".

Early life

Hans Unger was born in a lower middle-class family in Bautzen, in Sorbenland in the southeast corner of Germany near Poland and the Czech republic. His father quickly recognized his son's artistic talent, but since he did not think the art business would be a thriving occupation for young Hans, he sent him to trade school. This was no success and quite soon Unger became a house painter (Anstreicher). In 1887 he took up a training position as decoration painter in his home-town. From 1888 to 1893 he was a student in the Painters Room (Malsaal) in the Royal Dresden Court Theatre.

In 1893 he registered at the Dresden Art Academy, where his teachers were Friedrich Preller der Juengere and Hermann Prell. Among his fellow students were Sascha Schneider and Richard Mueller, with whom he shared a studio. In 1894 he spent summer on the island Bornholm where he made a series of watercolours. In 1896 he designed a poster (Plakat) for the Dresden-based organ manufacturing company Estey, which gave him international success and launched his career. In all, he published about a dozen posters that feature for the first time his trademark of the beautiful but dreamlike and almost sleepwalking woman, a motive that was so prominent in much fin de siecle painting.

Early career

In 1897 he participated in the International Art Exhibition Dresden with the work "The Muse" (Die Muse) that proved to be one of his master pieces. It was immediately bought by the Staatliche Gemaeldengalerie Dresden. From october 1897 to march 1898 he studied at the Academie Julian in Paris. Another boost to this career was the commission to design the scenic curtain for the newly built Dresden Centraltheater, in 1899. Unfortunately the whole building was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden by the allied forces in february 1945.

In 1899 he also took part in the German Art Exhibition in Dresden where he had his own room, decorated with lila walls and a black wooden rim. Among the works displayed was a Self Portrait with Sweater, and Farewell (Abschied), a landscape.

In 1902 he became a member of the newly established German Artist's Union (Deutsche Kuenstler Bund) and traveled to the North- and Ostsea, Italy and Egypt, where he made lots of watercolours and pastel paintings. Unger was a passionate traveler to the South all his life, and the powerful colours in his work reflect this. In 1905 Unger designed a mosaic for the tower of the Ernemannn factory in Dresden, portraying a "Light Goddess". The tower still stands and is presently at the Schandauerstrasse.

The apex

Around 1910, a change is notable in Unger's style. His stroke becomes more bold, his colours loose their intensity and his choice of motive becomes increasingly monotonic. The dreamlike female figure that around the turn of the century was captivating and fresh became a cliche. However, in his portraits and landscapes Unger remained as powerful as he had ever been.

In 1908 and 1910 the Galerie Arnold in Dresden featured him in a solo exhibition. In 1912 Unger participated in the Grosse Kunstausstellung Dresden with 7 large paintings and 3 drawings. The outbreak of World War I in november 1914 forced many young artists to join the military and fight at the front, but Unger was already so prominent in his profession that he was spared this fate and could continue to devote himself to his art.

In 1917 Unger participated in the exhibition of the Dresden Art Society (Dresdner Kunstgenossenschaft). He designs the catalogue's cover image and showes 6 paintings, amongst which "Salome" and "Reclining Girls" (Liegende Maedchen), and 6 drawings. In 1918 the Art Exhibition Dresden features Unger with another 11 paintings and 10 drawings. attesting to his popularity and renown in the artistic community.

A lost world

In 1918, Germany lost the war, and it was also the end of the monarchy. The young artists, returning from the front, were disillusioned and wanted only one thing and that was Change, moving even further away from impressionism and copying reality as they had already done in the years prior to World War I. Unger's world of idealized women in soothing landscapes had been overhauled by the Zeitgeist and was relegated to the background. Nonetheless, Unger still was one of the most wealthy artists of Dresden, and he continued to travel to Italy, Dalmatia, Spain, Portugal and Africa. King Fuad of Egypt was one of his mecenasses.

Personal life

Unger married his wife in 1898. She was to become his muse, his model and the main motive of his works. She is said to have been quite beautiful and the center of attention of the many friends in the artistic circles in Dresden, especially musicians and writers, that Unger invited at his house.

In 1902, Unger designed his own mansion in Loschwitz, a suburb of Dresden. His prominence as a daring young artist and his popularity among the Dresden upper class as a portraitist had made him a wealthy man. Unger also designed the entire interior decoration himself. This however was demolished during a renovation in the early 1970's. The villa, on the Kuegelgenstrasse, still exists and offers a view on the river Elbe and, further away, on the Dresden city center.

In 1903, his daughter Maja was born, who had clearly inherited her mother's looks. Her godfather was Sascha Schneider, a lifelong friend of Unger. After her death in 1973, Unger's estate was sold and scattered.

In 1904 Unger was awarded the title Professor, although he was not attached to the academy in any way.