August Macke

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Interest in painting was manifested in August Macke in his parents' house. His father collected ancient engravings and painted landscapes. In 1900 the family Macke moved to Bonn. August attended a real gymnasium. His first watercolors, these were animal images, landscapes and portraits belong by 1902.
In Basel, Macke met with the work of the Impressionists - an artistic movement, almost unknown at that time in Germany. The first paintings by Macke reflect the results of the artist's creative processing of Impressionist ideas. During one of the first trips to Paris, Macke was especially struck by the canvas. His album of sketches was replenished with drawings from the life of the city on the Seine. The influence on Macke of Toulouse-Lautrec is also evident.

In 1909, Macke married Elizabeth Gerhardt, daughter of Karl Gerhardt, owner of the Bonn enterprise "S. Gerhardt ». In 1910, Macke moved with his wife to live on Tegerno Lake. His work reaches new heights: numerous sketches in his sketch albums will serve as the basis for many paintings later. Macke writes people, nature and still lifes. Here his pastels appeared, inspired by the work of Cezanne. Individual style of Macke was formed in close relationship with French impressionism.

Works of Macke participated in the second exhibition of the "Blue Rider" in the Munich gallery of Hans Goltz in 1912. Thanks to the friendly relations of the artist with the French artist Robert Delaunay, Macke got acquainted with abstract painting. In 1913, Macke moved to Switzerland.

For him, this year was extremely productive. In his works devoted to man and nature, the influence of many artists is felt. On August 8, 1914, Macke was conscripted into the army and died in battle on September 26 at the age of 27.

August Macke is buried in the military cemetery in Souan (Souain). At the Bonn Old Cemetery in 1999, a monument to the painter and his wife was erected under the sketches of Dr. Thiel - the grandson of August Macke.