Love is the Seed of All Art - Hermann Hesse solo exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of his death, at Ludorff Gallery

To mark the 50th anniversary of Hermann Hesse's death (1877 Calw – 1962 Montognola), the Ludorff Gallery will honour the exceptional writer and painter in a large scale solo exhibition titled ‘Der Anfang aller Kunst ist die Liebe – Aquarelle und Gedichte von Herman Hesse’ (love is the seed of all art – watercolours and poems by Herman Hesse’.

The exhibition features over 70 watercolour paintings and handwritten poems, providing a rare opportunity to take a glance into the world of Hermann Hesse. The exhibition opens on February 5, from 12noon to 2pm.

Poet and Nobel prize winner Hesse is considered one of the most brilliant German writers of all time. His works 'Siddhartha' (1922) and 'Steppenwolf' (1927) as well as 'The Glass Bead Game' (1943) are amongst the masterpieces of German literature. Yet, his comprehensive work of paintings is far less popular.

The earliest exhibit dates back to 1918, when Herman began to immerse himself in painting. After settling in Berlin in 1912, he limited himself to the creation of vignettes for the illustration of his poems and gave them away as presents to collectors, friends and supporters.

His early and rather sporadic affair with painting grew more intense after 1918, when Hermann Hesse suffered a handful of personal tragedies: after the separation from his wife, she is admitted to a mental institution and his children end up in the care of strangers.

Deeply isolated and lonely, Hesse dares to make a new beginning within this chaotic situation. He leaves Bern the following year and looks for a new home in the deep south of Switzerland. In his new home, Casa Camuzzi, he begins to create detailed paintings and fleeting sketches during his wanderings through the Collina d‘Oro, the churches, houses, trees, flowers, forests and streets.

Painting becomes his new form of expression, a way of dealing with bygone events and expressing personal emotions.

He gradually developed a unique and personal style of painting. The initially naturalist and usually fairytale-like depictions of landscapes in mute pastel colours transformed into an abstract, glowing manner of creating colour and form, not unlike the school of expressionism.

Hesse was both inspired and guided by the work of his friends Hermann Max Pechstein, August Macke and first and foremost Louis Moillet, with whom he entertained a deep friendship.

Not long before his 40th birthday, Hermann Hesse began to discover and nurture his painting talents. Yet, the autodidact was not driven by artistic ambition, but drew his inspiration from the pure joy of painting, the expression and fascination of the beauty of nature.

In hindsight, Hesse commented on the years in Tessin as his “fullest, lushest, most diligent and radiant” time.

The exhibition presents atmospheric watercolour paintings and sketches from his time in Tessin, but numerous illustrations for the (also exhibited) handwritten poems completed the journey through the oeuvre of the exceptional genius that was Herman Hesse at the Ludorff Galerie.

A catalogue featuring an elaborate essay by Volker Michels, the former Suhrkamp editor and publisher of the Herman Hesse complete edition, as well as pictures of all exhibits, accompanies the exhibition. The catalogue can be ordered from the gallery's website for EUR 20.

For all hardcore Hesse fans: The Kunstmuseum Bern will be hosting the large museum exhibition “Die Grenzen ueberfliegen – The Painter Hermann Hesse” (28th of March - 12th of August 2012)


Der Anfang aller Kunst ist die Liebe
Watercolour paintings and poems by Hermann Hesse
5. February - 5. May 2012
Hermann Hesse
Galerie Ludorff
Königsallee 22, 40212 Düsseldorf
Germany