THE TEACHERS OF HERMANN GROSS Rudolf Yelin the Elder Rudolf Yelin the Elder was a well-known stained glassmaker and church painter in Stuttgart. The parents chose a theological career for their son ; however, before the age of twenty he turned away from his theological training and went to Munich where he devoted himself to painting. In the spring of 1888, he moved to Stuttgart where he received his first commission which was as a book illustrator. In the autumn of 1888, he returned to Munich and attended the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. In 1890 Yelin received his first major commission which was for murals for a chapel in Reutlingen. It was during the summer of 1892 that he received a painting commission from the Stuttgart Collegiate Church. On completing this work and two monumental canvases for the Tuttlingen Stadtkirche, he started to receive commissions from throughout Germany, mostly for stained glass. In the 15 years or so between his establishment as an independent artist and the outbreak of the First World War, he created around 100 mostly large format designs for stained glass. His designs for church windows were believed to show clear features of the Art Nouveau movement not least because of the way he executed leaded glass windows. However, the period of inflation which followed the end of the war proved damaging and led Yelin to withdraw from the art market. He died on 28 December 1940 in Stuttgart at the age of 76. His two sons Rudolf Yelin the Younger (1902-1991) and Ernst Yelin (1900-1991) both became well-known stained-glass makers in Germany. Paul Haustein After finishing at the Realgynasium in Stuttgart, Gross attended silver and goldsmithing classes with Professor Paul Haustein at the Kunstgewerbeschule (Art and Crafts School) in Stuttgart, where in due course he became Haustein’s master pupil. In addition to his teaching commitments, Haustein, along with several other leading German designers, worked in a freelance capacity for WMF (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik). WMF was one of the leading glass manufacturers in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s and responsible for pioneering the production of very high-quality art glass (the Ikora and Myra designs) which gained a worldwide reputation. Waldemar Raemisch Gross then enrolled on the one-year course in engraving and metal chasing by Professor Waldemar Raemisch. Raemisch had begun his career in Berlin apprenticing in metalworking and sculpture. From 1919 to 1923 he taught at the High School of the Museum for Arts and Crafts and then became a professor at the State Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin. Working between the two world wars Raemisch designed, among other things, currency, public memorials, the German government’s wedding gift to the Shah of Iran and the bronze eagles at the entrance to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Forced from his professorship in 1937 because his wife was of Jewish descent, Raemisch emigrated to the USA. He was invited to the Rhode Island School of Design and officially took up post in September 1939. From 1946 to 1954 he was Head of the Sculpture Department. The two last bronze sculptures that Raemisch completed are perhaps his best known. He was commissioned to provide two sculptures representing the ‘spirit of juveniles’ which were to be in front of the southwestern façade of the Youth Study Center on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. In each of the two groups, a seated central figure is surrounded by idealized compositions of children and attending adults. The central figures symbolize a universal Mother and a Doctor or Healer respectively – allegorical expressions of the care, comfort, and guidance that adults can offer to children. Raemisch died in Rome in 1955 supervising the completion of a sculpture commissioned by the Philadelphia Art Commission. Robert Wlérick Gross’s third teacher was Robert Wlérick who was born in 1882. He began his artistic apprenticeship in 1899 at the L’École Municipale des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse where he remained until 1904. In 1906 he left for Paris where he enrolled at the L’École des Beaux-Arts. Wlérick exhibited for the first time at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1907. And it was in Paris that he joined the Bande à Schnegg - a group of sculptors seeking independence from the official academic art taught in Art schools. They were supported in this move by Auguste Rodin, with whom several of them collaborated. In 1929 Wlérick became professor at L’Académie de la Grande Chaumière. During his life he received many prestigious commissions from the state and his monumental works can be found in public places in Paris. The work of Wlérick was greatly admired by Guillaume Apollinaire and Auguste Rodin and it was Rodin who encouraged Wlérick to cast in bronze. For Wlérick the purest subject of art was the human figure as it represented for him a timeless beauty. He died in 1944.
THE TEACHERS OF HERMANN GROSS Rudolf Yelin the Elder Rudolf Yelin the Elder was a well-known stained glassmaker and church painter in Stuttgart. The parents chose a theological career for their son ; however, before the age of twenty he turned away from his theological training and went to Munich where he devoted himself to painting. In the spring of 1888, he moved to Stuttgart where he received his first commission which was as a book illustrator. In the autumn of 1888, he returned to Munich and attended the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. In 1890 Yelin received his first major commission which was for murals for a chapel in Reutlingen. It was during the summer of 1892 that he received a painting commission from the Stuttgart Collegiate Church. On completing this work and two monumental canvases for the Tuttlingen Stadtkirche, he started to receive commissions from throughout Germany, mostly for stained glass. In the 15 years or so between his establishment as an independent artist and the outbreak of the First World War, he created around 100 mostly large format designs for stained glass. His designs for church windows were believed to show clear features of the Art Nouveau movement not least because of the way he executed leaded glass windows. However, the period of inflation which followed the end of the war proved damaging and led Yelin to withdraw from the art market. He died on 28 December 1940 in Stuttgart at the age of 76. His two sons Rudolf Yelin the Younger (1902-1991) and Ernst Yelin (1900-1991) both became well-known stained-glass makers in Germany. Paul Haustein After finishing at the Realgynasium in Stuttgart, Gross attended silver and goldsmithing classes with Professor Paul Haustein at the Kunstgewerbeschule (Art and Crafts School) in Stuttgart, where in due course he became Haustein’s master pupil. In addition to his teaching commitments, Haustein, along with several other leading German designers, worked in a freelance capacity for WMF (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik). WMF was one of the leading glass manufacturers in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s and responsible for pioneering the production of very high-quality art glass (the Ikora and Myra designs) which gained a worldwide reputation. Waldemar Raemisch Gross then enrolled on the one-year course in engraving and metal chasing by Professor Waldemar Raemisch. Raemisch had begun his career in Berlin apprenticing in metalworking and sculpture. From 1919 to 1923 he taught at the High School of the Museum for Arts and Crafts and then became a professor at the State Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin. Working between the two world wars Raemisch designed, among other things, currency, public memorials, the German government’s wedding gift to the Shah of Iran and the bronze eagles at the entrance to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Forced from his professorship in 1937 because his wife was of Jewish descent, Raemisch emigrated to the USA. He was invited to the Rhode Island School of Design and officially took up post in September 1939. From 1946 to 1954 he was Head of the Sculpture Department. The two last bronze sculptures that Raemisch completed are perhaps his best known. He was commissioned to provide two sculptures representing the ‘spirit of juveniles’ which were to be in front of the southwestern façade of the Youth Study Center on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. In each of the two groups, a seated central figure is surrounded by idealized compositions of children and attending adults. The central figures symbolize a universal Mother and a Doctor or Healer respectively – allegorical expressions of the care, comfort, and guidance that adults can offer to children. Raemisch died in Rome in 1955 supervising the completion of a sculpture commissioned by the Philadelphia Art Commission. Robert Wlérick Gross’s third teacher was Robert Wlérick who was born in 1882. He began his artistic apprenticeship in 1899 at the L’École Municipale des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse where he remained until 1904. In 1906 he left for Paris where he enrolled at the L’École des Beaux-Arts. Wlérick exhibited for the first time at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1907. And it was in Paris that he joined the Bande à Schnegg - a group of sculptors seeking independence from the official academic art taught in Art schools. They were supported in this move by Auguste Rodin, with whom several of them collaborated. In 1929 Wlérick became professor at L’Académie de la Grande Chaumière. During his life he received many prestigious commissions from the state and his monumental works can be found in public places in Paris. The work of Wlérick was greatly admired by Guillaume Apollinaire and Auguste Rodin and it was Rodin who encouraged Wlérick to cast in bronze. For Wlérick the purest subject of art was the human figure as it represented for him a timeless beauty. He died in 1944.
Hermann Gross - Sculptor, Artist, & Stained-Glass Maker 4 February 1904 - 1 September 1988
Hermann Gross - Sculptor, Artist, & Stained-Glass Maker 4 February 1904 - 1 September 1988
Hermann Gross  Sculptor, Artist, & Stained-Glass Maker