84 years ago

When Fritz was very young and growing up in Germany, his immediate surroundings likely would not have attracted attention for anything out of the ordinary.

Remnants of an 84 year old calendar

His family owned a house and large workshop in a very small village and Fritz had no great aspirations to become an artist, from what is known. But he did show a lot of interest in sketching his surroundings, and without travel to far away places, he started with the main (and only?) street in his hometown of Miltern.

These early drawings were so well done, especially for a 13 year old, that it became obvious that this should be encouraged. The drawing shown here won in a youth calendar contest: Drawn 'Nach der Natur' in 1927, entered in 1928 and published in 1929. 'Nach der Natur' means drawn out in nature, something that Fritz ended up doing passionately for another 80 years, wherever he went.

Prairie Pastels and Winter Watercolors

Saskatoon Riverbank - Pastel 1972

 There is undeniable beauty in winter scenes of any type. Perhaps it's the 'clean' look of the white snow that blankets the landscape, perhaps it's how it brings out the few colors in contrast. However it is seen, it must have been an inspiration to Fritz, as he was known to quickly pack up his materials and head out into the snow. He often mentioned that oils and pastels work best outdoors, due to

Saskatoon Skyline - Watercolor

freezing temperatures that make water colors and acrylics more of a challenge. Certainly there were many other challenges in the sometimes inaccessible locations Fritz wanted to get his motifs from. The glistening prairie snow was often deceivingly deep for simple boots or the small vehicles he drove, resulting in adventures that Fritz had not planned for. These, sometimes  amusing, stories are as much a part of the memories, as the beauty and history that his paintings hold and preserve.

Winter in '59

Winter in Dätzingen, 1959, from the Archives in Saskatoon

Pleasant memories remain with paintings of the far-too-few snowfalls in southern Germany. Winter paintings are many, of the prairies and Saskatoon skylines, but ones from the 1960s in Germany are scarce. Below are two more favorites, just recently 're-discovered' via communication through this blog. They are part of the collection of the Ebner family and were photographed and graciously made available to post. It is very exciting to be able to see them again, and also to expand the database of the Stehwien works in this way. Thank you to the owners!  

Winter in Döffingen, 1960s

Winter in Döffingen area, 1960s

Family projects

Timeless Christmas message in linocut.

Sledding on a steep hill!

Color print of a sunny day with the family car in the 1960s

With Fritz being very much a family man, it's great to rummage through boxes of his childrens' art. His four children often went on painting excursions with him, and also had the privilege to learn many of his techniques, including printmaking. These 3 examples of linocuts were made in the 1960s, with his son and daughters ranging in age from about 7 to 13 at the time. With the challenges of a chisel and linoleum, versus a crayon and paper, these pieces turned out quite successful, and are definitely worth keeping.

More Linocuts

Colored print on fabric

Weil der Stadt linocut in red ink

                                     The German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler was born in Weil der Stadt, in the 1500s. This nearby town nurtures its historic  character and keeps its town wall and over 500 year old buildings in good repair, going so far as to rebuild an old museum to resemble its original, and often crooked walls, after a fire destroyed much of it a few years ago.

Linocuts - Printmaking with linoleum

Cathedral of Weil der Stadt, as the cut linoleum

Resulting print

An announcement of phenomenal significance was made in Saskatoon recently, about bringing original Picasso art to the future Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. The name Picasso is enough to make anyone take notice, but the type of art that was the topic, the Linocut, was also very intriguing.  

This method of print making, in Fritz's case, from motifs cut into wood or linoleum, was also a favorite medium, especially in the 1960s, when the Stehwiens lived in southern Germany. The motifs of the medieval village were many, and lent themselves perfectly to 'painting' with cut lines, instead of a brush stroke. Experimenting with colors and materials often really enhanced the look as well.

Colored print of Weil der Stadt Market Square

Our War Hero



Self portrait during 'War Christmas' 1942

  

A favorite snapshot, showing the artist
surviving and 'emerging' from the uniform. 

It comes as no surprise, when browsing old photo albums, that Fritz is never seen toting a gun or even proudly wearing his uniform. He was always an artist first, and as most artists, a total pacifist. War and especially bombs and combat were a most abhorrent thing to him. This is consistently reflected in the snapshots and paintings that remain from those 7 long, tumultous years spent in the army.

It isn't well known what his duties were, but he was involved in the production of the newspaper of his Division, doing graphics and reporting on happenings through his paintings. There is also some evidence of a planned publication of 48 of his paintings, that earned him a leave to travel to a publisher in Munich, towards the end of the war. With the chaos and loss of communications, however, it appears that this did not come to pass. There are a number of paintings in the archives, mostly watercolors, that were likely selections for this book.

Sketch of Welikije Luki, presumably the one done in the photo below.




Fritz sketching the town of Welikije Luki, Belarus, 1942



Spirited Memories



Excellent decor throughout!
Is that skeleton evidence of Fritz's good marks
in anatomy class, back at the art academy?



Waltraude's invitation - who could turn it down?



Fritz in his wildly decorated studio, 1978



On finding more rolls of randomly painted packaging paper, it made sense to dig through old family photo albums, to see how it all pieced together back then. Wow, that turns out to be a fun tangent to get onto! Apparently a good two weeks or more went into the preparation (mostly decorating?) of the parties that were hosted by the Stehwiens in their new addition to the house, a nice large studio. The ambience created by dressing up the walls, as well as 'lowering' the ceiling and adding music and mystery made quite an impression on friends and colleagues. Most were wonderfully and amazingly creative in their costumes as well, which really made the parties a success. Especially with the challenge of trying to marry the traditions - Halloween (mostly for children, 40 years ago) and the German carnival, usually at the end of February.

More on this topic in spring...

Karneval


 

Part of a large wall mural, showing the fisherman not
catching any fish, but mermaids instead!



Traditions 'back home' also included much fun for the artist family and their friends - especially around Fasching, the German 'Karneval'. Costumes, dance, traditional food and drink help make for a great ambience, in rooms or halls, every bit as 'dressed up' as the people. Interestingly, November 11th, at 11:11AM, is known to be the start of the carnival season, which typically ends on Ash Wednesday, and is deeply rooted in the culture. The many masquerades and often very large and elaborate parades are mostly held in spring, however. Dates of observation of these traditions have changed over the centuries and do vary somewhat throughout the country.





 

Different medium, same motif with the bright orange pumpkin.



Loving the creativeness that comes along with the disguise, Fritz and Waltraude have some great memories of carnival. Waltraude, having grown up with puppetry and theatre*, was and is, also very good at sketching and organizing ideas. Together they staged extraordinary parties, including fantastic wall decorations, costumes, fun and dance.




 *Waltraude's father, Oskar Barthold was a renowned puppeteer in eastern Germany, although his marionette theatre and career in puppetry were eventually all destroyed by the politics of war and post war.









Colorful Traditions

Still life with Pumpkin, 1971 Watercolor





After fall 'colors' near the Battlefords, 1968

 Finding this still life seems quite appropriate for this time of year! - and lets one reminisce on more first impressions 44 years ago. The color was mostly gone out of the landscape and most gardens looked rather drab. There was much color in the celebration of Hallowe'en however. Large, bright orange pumpkins for decorations, with candlelight flickering through ghoulish faces, and children dressed up, hurrying along dark sidewalks. In a way, it was similar to the lantern parades back in Germany, that take place in the fall, also in the dark, early evening. Except that children sing as they walk with their lit paper lantern. The going house to house may be similar in some areas, though the 'loot' would have been quite a bit different.



More of what we left behind in 1968

Small village in Germany during harvest. 1960s, Oil on board



Street in Döffingen, Linolcut 1960s

This year, in 2012, it is 44 years ago, that Fritz and family embarked on the ocean crossing, leaving behind an adventurous past, that certainly holds, by far, not only good memories.

The motifs for painting, sketching and drawing were many, however.



In the valleys near the Black Forest, the picturesque villages had Fritz taking his children for many morning walks, to get "Frühsport" (morning sport, or that early workout) and lots of fresh air. Sketches were turned into linol cuts, and many oil paintings on small boards were the result of exploring the villages on foot, from 10 years of residing in the village of Döffingen, near Stuttgart in southern Germany

Scenic village Döffingen, Oil on board



Late Summer 'Back Home'

 

Sunflowers

A fascinating part of this archival and documentation project is the discovery of double sided works. It was apparently not uncommon, and as much as it seems like a compulsive, and often amusing 'can't stop painting' phenomenon, it was simply a widespread material shortage.


Old town with fields







Judging by the style of 'Old town with fields', this painting was created in the very early 1950s. The damage around the edge is likely due to the painting having been framed, and perhaps exhibited. This would make it the front, while the sunflowers were painted later, on the back.

Fascinating indeed!

Lakeside

Lake shoreline with boat.

It may be true that the greens of summer offer fewer captivating motifs, due to the monotones. But in this recently re-discovered canvas of a northern lake, it's apparent that with an early hint of fall, this fairly lush green shoreline creates quite a bright mood.

Prairie Summer

Old homestead south of Saskatoon

A 'first summer in Saskatoon' painting that truly shows the fascination with this new home for Fritz and family. The endless horizon, the living sky and the homestead houses brings out the fact that pioneer life in 1969 was not too distant a memory. For Fritz and family, after having 'survived' the first winter here, it also became difficult to imagine breaking the land and raising many children in these small houses on the endless lands. Absolutely unforgiving, whether in the harsh winters or the hot summers.

Close up and colorful!

Thanks to the digital world, one can get an amazing close up look at photos of paintings quite instantly. In fact, it seems that each such cropped look creates its own successful composition. This is wonderfully evident when taking a look at the 4 crop outs from the Summer Flowers painting posted the previous day. And this is from a quick snapshot - imagine what a better quality photo could present. And one can't help but wonder, what would Fritz's comments be?

Summer Flowers








 

Saskatoon in Print



Saskatoon 1969, view onto the Broadway Bridge, looking NW



This Pen and Ink sketch was the first limited edition print available for sale at the Fritz Stehwien Gallery. More motifs, including some done on the University campus and later Saskatoon skylines were also printed. Apologies for the poor coloring of the snapshot - the prints are a very crisp and pleasing black and white. Notable is the absence of the two highrises - the hotel and apartment built in the early 1980s - at the bottom of the Broadway Bridge.