Darmstadt Artists' Colony

The Darmstadt Artists’ Colony refers both to a group of Jugendstil artists as well as to the buildings in Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt in which these artists lived and worked. The artists were largely financed by patrons and worked together with other members of the group who ideally had concordant artistic tastes.

The artists’ colony was founded in 1899 by Ernest Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse. His motto was: "Mein Hessenland blühe und in ihm die Kunst" (“My Hesse should flourish, and the art in Hesse too”), and he expected the combination of art and trade to provide economic impulses for his land. The artists’ goal was to be the development of modern and forward-looking forms of construction and living. To this end, Ernst Ludwig brought together several artists of the Art Nouveau in Darmstadt: Peter Behrens, Paul Bürck, Rudolf Bosselt, Hans Christiansen, Ludwig Habich, Patriz Huber and Joseph Maria Olbrich.

The first exhibition of the artists’ colony took place in 1901 with the title “A Document of German Art”. The exhibits were the colony’s individual houses, the studios and various temporary constructions. The exhibition was opened on the 15th of May with a festival proposed by Peter Behrens and inspired interest far beyond Darmstadt’s borders, but ended nonetheless with a large financial loss in October. Paul Bürck, Hans Christiansen and Patriz Huber left the colony shortly afterwards, as did Peter Behrens and Rudolf Bosselt in the following years.

The Ernst Ludwig House was built as a common atelier following plans drawn up by Joseph Maria Olbrich. Olbrich had worked as an architect and was the central figure in the group of artists, Peter Behrens having been involved at first only as a painter and an illustrator. The laying of the foundation stone took place on the 24th of March 1900. The atelier was both a worksite and the venue for gatherings in the artists’ colony. In the middle of the main floor is the meeting room with paintings by Paul Bürck and there are three artist studios to each side of it. There are two underground artists’ apartments and underground rooms for business purposes. The entrance is located in a niche that is decorated with gold-plated flower motifs. Two six-metre tall statues, “Man and Woman” or “Strength and Beauty”, flank the entrance and are the work of Ludwig Habich. The artists’ houses were grouped around the atelier. Towards the end of the 1980s, the building was rebuilt and turned into a museum about the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony.

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