EMIL BETZLER (Kamen 1892 - 1974 Frankfurt at Main), Riverscape with Houses

EMIL BETZLER*
(Kamen 1892 - 1974 Frankfurt at Main)
Riverscape with Houses
oil/paper/cardboard, 41,8 x 50,2 cm
signed Betzler
Provenance: European private collection

ESTIMATE € 1.500 - 2.000
START € 1.200

German painter of the 20th century. Counts among so-called lost or lost generation. From 1910 to 1912 studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Elberfeld, from 1912 to 1914 studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. From 1916 teaching in Frankfurt am Main. From 1919 member of the Frankfurter Künstlerbund. In 1920, together with Hanns Ludwig Katz, Gottfried Diehl and the art dealer Cramer, founds the artists' group Ghat. Travels to France, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands. 1925 Acquaintance with Max Beckmann. 1938 in the course of the Nazi action degenerate art some works confiscated. Stylistically to Expressionism, close to Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Alexej von Jawlensky and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Created landscapes, figurative representations and portraits and self-portraits in strong colors.

Emil Betzler first studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Elberfeld and then at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he passed the examination for the artistic teaching post in 1914. From 1914 to 1915 he did military service, from which he retired due to a serious injury. In 1916 he took up a teaching post in Frankfurt a. Main. In 1917 Betzler published the portfolio "Christ Passion". In 1919 he became a member of the "Frankfurter Künstlerbund" and took part in the first major group exhibition in the M. Goldschmidt gallery. With Hanns Ludwig Katz, Gottfried Diehl and the gallery owner Herbert Cramer, he founded the expressionist artist group "Ghat" in 1920. From the very beginning he was valued in particular as a portraitist. During his entire creative period, however, he also created self-portraits and expressive, moving landscapes such as the present oil painting with the two rivers, which only meet outside the right edge of the picture, and the cubic white houses on the piece of land surrounded by the watercourses. Landscapes like these were created in particular in connection with numerous trips to Italy, France, Austria and the Netherlands. In 1925 Betzler made the acquaintance of Max Beckmann; the following year he was appointed a teacher at the Liebig-Oberrealschule in Frankfurt. In 1930 he was promoted to specialist advisor for art education at universities. Accused of “Bolshevik disintegration” in 1933, Betzler lost his positions, after which he withdrew into private life. In the course of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, three of his works were confiscated in 1937, which are still missing today. After 1945, Betzler again developed a lively exhibition activity. As a member of the BDK, Betzler emerged in the 1950s with his writings and as a teacher in the field of art education. In 1967 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit.

PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° in the catalog), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax of 13% is added to the sum of the highest bid and the buyer's premium. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.