Paul Paeschkeartist • painterBerlijn 1875-1943

The German impressionist Paul Paeschke, born in Berlin, first trained as a drawing teacher and then studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts between 1900 and 1906. There he also mastered etching and lithography in addition to painting. He belongs to the artists of ‘Der Verschollenen Generation’ (The Lost Generation), a term for German artists who were born between 1890 and 1914 and had their training during the Weimar period (1918-1933). During the Nazi era, their art was considered ‘Entartete Kunst’ and they were not allowed to participate in exhibitions due to the regulations of the time because of their Jewish origins, political views or sexual orientation. Although Paeschke made study trips throughout Europe, especially to Spain, Italy and England, he found most of his motifs in and around his hometown. He liked to be among people and depicted them during their gatherings in the open air. He paints city and beach scenes with a loose brushwork and layer-on-layer glaze technique in a light color palette, often depicting figures schematically. In the catalogue ‘Paul Paeschke, a Berlin Painter on His 100th Birthday’ Irmgard Wirth writes: ‘all this reveals a ‘very fine, light, often somewhat hazy clarity that would become a typical feature of much of his work’. Not only his works on canvas, but also his pastels and watercolors radiate a remarkable serenity and weightlessness.