Franz Koenigs
| Franz Koenigs | |
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Franz Koenigs painted by his father-in-law Leopold von Kalckreuth (1855–1928)
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| Born |
3 September 1881 Kierberg, Prussia, Germany |
| Died | 6 May 1941 (aged 59) Cologne, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
Franz Wilhelm Koenigs (3 September 1881 – 6 May 1941) was an international banker and art collector.
Koenigs was born a German citizen, his father Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Koenigs was a German Banker; his mother Johanna Bunge was of Dutch descent.
Franz Koenigs to follow in the footsteps of his father and uncle Felix Koenigs, became director manager and joint partner of three banks: Delbrück Schickler & Co in Berlin, Delbrück von der Heydt in Cologne, and Rhodius Koenigs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He founded the latter after the first World War (1920) with two cousins from the Bunge side of the family Alfred and Felix Rhodius on Keizersgracht 119-121, Amsterdam.
His uncle Felix Koenigs was a banker and director at Delbrück Leo & co, the later Delbrück Schickler & Co. He developed the Villenkolonie Grunewald. He supported the Berliner Secession and was a passionate collector and friend of artists like Adolf Bruett, Max Klinger, Wilhelm Leibl, Hans Olde and sculptor Otto Lessing. After his death during the World Exhibition in Paris, his collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin, and painters like Giovanni Segantini, was legated to the National Gallery (Berlin).
Felix as a banker and collector was an example for Franz Koenigs. Together in Paris, Franz collected at the age of 17, his first Jean-François-Millet drawing, the start of his Modern Art Collection. In 1914 he married Countess Anna von Kalckreuth, daughter of Leopold Graf von Kalckreuth and Bertha Countess Yorck von Wartenburg.
Anna's eldest brother Wolf (9 June 1887 Weimar - 9 Oktober 1906 Stuttgart) was a poet who translated at a very young age Beaudelaires "Les Fleurs du Mal" (die Blumen des Bösen). In 1906 Wolf entered the military, probably a world to harsh, he took his life a few days later. Two years later Rilke composed on 4 and 5 November 1908 "Requiem" for Wolf Graf von Kalckreuth in Paris. A close relation between Rilke, the Kalckeuth's and Franz Koenigs developed. Regretful, Rilke's vast correspondence with Gräfin Bertha von Kalckreuth (born Yorck von Wartenburg) was destroyed on her request.
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