Collection: Christian Rohlfs
Christian Rohlfs (1849–1938) was a German painter and printmaker associated with German Expressionism. Born in Niendorf, Germany, he initially trained in an academic tradition before transitioning to Expressionist techniques in the early 20th century.
His work evolved through exposure to modernist movements, particularly after his appointment in 1901 as a professor at the Folkwang Museum in Hagen, where he engaged with avant-garde practices and international contemporary art.
Rohlfs’s oeuvre encompasses landscapes, floral still lifes, and biblical or Nordic mythological themes, rendered with increasing formal experimentation. Early works employed a luminous, Divisionist palette, while later pieces adopted the rhythmic, impasto brushwork of Vincent van Gogh. By 1907, he incorporated woodcut and linocut techniques, emphasizing bold black contours. His mature style synthesized these influences into a distinctive Expressionist idiom, marked by heightened color and emotive distortion.
In 1924, Rohlfs was elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts, though the Nazi regime expelled him in 1937, labeling his work "Entartete Kunst" (Degenerate Art). His final years were spent under artistic prohibition, and he died shortly thereafter. Posthumously, his contributions were recognized as foundational to German Expressionism, particularly within the "Die Brücke" and "Der Blaue Reiter" circles, though his direct affiliations with these groups remain undocumented.
