German expressionism and Erich Waske : the Malta collection

Abstract

The dissertation "Erich Waske and German Expressionism: The Malta Collection" concerns an almost entirely forgotten artist who worked in the period and style of German Expressionism. From the first research onwards I have encountered two differing views: that of a second generation as well as second rate artist, and on the other hand that of the gifted artist who was once appreciated for his dedication to spiritual art. Documents like a letter (which has been partially published in Erich Waske's catalogue Gemälde und Monumentalentwürfe) by Karl Schmidt Rotluff to Waske, led me to clearly agree with the second view. This particular letter has been written for no other reason than to praise Erich Waske's art. Considering Schmidt-Rotluffs authority as a leader of the artistic movement, such a document clearly shows that Waske was an artist of some importance and hence should not go unnoticed. As little had been known about the artist, it was my deep to shed some light on Waske's oeuvre and biography by means of primary research. I consider it part of the achievement to have revealed a number of unpublished documents most of which were found in the Berlinische Galerie, a place which was kindly pointed out to me by Prof. Stahlmann. The interpreting of these often barely readable and yet important documents has revealed a lot of detail about the artist?s life. This can be read in the first chapter of this thesis where Erich Waske's Biography is discussed. No holistic account on the oeuvre of Erich Waske has ever been given, so that the purpose of this thesis lies partly in giving an overall view of Erich Waske?s work, life and thought, which hopefully serves as a good foundation for future studies on the artist. It was a further aim of this thesis to disc This was done not only by integrating these paintings into the text, but indeed by basing the entire discussion on the works of this collection. Apart from that a brief chapter is given about the collection itself. I would also like to note that in addition to the various useful materials that were found in archives in Berlin, a number of paintings by Erich Waske are now known to be in the Artothekder Berliner Künstlerförderung (Picture Lending Library for the Social Aid of Artists) as well as the Berlin Senate.