Karl Hofer
* 11 10 1878 | Karlsruhe
† 03 04 1955 | Berlin
Karl Hofer is one of the great mavericks in the art of the 20th century. With only a few exceptions, he remained true to figuration throughout his life. His paintings, including portraits and nudes, masquerades and circus scenes, landscapes and still lifes, are distinguished by a classic equilibrium and a quiet, stringent beauty.
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Vita Karl Hofer
1878
Born in Karlsruhe.
1892–95
Apprenticeship in the Müller’schen Hofbuchhaltung (Karlsruhe accounting firm). He is hired by the company as a commercial assistant.
1897–1902
Studies at the Großherzoglich Badischen Akademie der Künste (now State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe); master pupil of Hans Thoma.
1899
First stay in Paris.
1900
Second stay in Paris.
1902
Hofer begins studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart as the master pupil of Leopold von Kalckreuth.
1903
Marriage in April to the singer Mathilde Scheinberger; the couple moves to Rome.
1904
Birth of their son Karl, called Carlino.
1908
The family moves to Paris.
1910
Hofer undertakes a five-month excursion to India.
1911
Birth of their son Hansrudi.
1912
The Städel Museum in Frankfurt acquires Hofer’s painting Loth und seine Töchter (Lot and His Daughters).
1913
Another journey to India. Resettlement to Berlin; Hofer becomes a member of the “Free Secession”.
1914
The family is surprised by the outbreak of the First World War while on holiday in the coastal resort town of Ambleteuse in northern France; Hofer is interned for three years.
1919
He is released to Switzerland following the end of the war, where he takes an apartment in Zurich.
1920
Return to Germany.
1922
Hofer is called to the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (now Berlin University of the Arts) in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
1923
Member of the Prussian Academy of Arts.
1924
Participates in the International Exhibition of Paintings of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.
1927
Trip to the USA. Hofer founds the Badische Secession in Karlsruhe.
1928
Major exhibitions in Mannheim and Berlin on the occasion of his 50th birthday.
1929
Member of the Senate of the Prussian Academy of Arts.
1933
Discharged from office.
1934
Divorce from his wife.
1937
He is represented with nine paintings in the NS propaganda exhibition Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art). More than 300 of his works are removed from museums.
1938
Hofer is prohibited from painting, exhibiting and selling works.
1939
Marriage to model Elisabeth Schmidt.
1943
His studio in Berlin is destroyed during a bombing attack; he repaints several of the destroyed paintings.
1945
Hofer is named Director of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin.
1952
He receives the Order Pour le mérite for Science and Arts.
1953
He receives the Great Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Berliner Kunstpreis (Berlin art Prize) on the occasion of his 75th birthday. His autobiography Erinnerungen eines Malers (A Painter’s Memories) appears.
1955
Bitter public dispute with the art historian Will Grohmann concerning the importance of non-representational art. Hofer, who represents figuration, is subject to aggressive attacks.
He dies on 3 April in Berlin following several strokes.