Hans Lietzmann's Open-Air Nude School on Lake Garda
Hans Lietzmann, a German artist born in Berlin in 1872 and who passed away in Torbole sul Garda in 1955, established the avant-garde Freilicht-Akt-Schule at his villa-atelier, Café Paradiso, after relocating to Italy in 1899. This venue became a gathering place for artists and models, merging figure painting with landscapes. Among its notable participants were Marie Steinbecker, Tanna Kasimir-Hoernes, Oskar Lüthy, and Emmerich Schaffran. The academy gained recognition through the magazine Die Schönheit. Lietzmann's artistic approach transformed, fusing German realism with chromatic synthesis, as seen in 'Modello Nudo sul Lago di Garda' (1914). He also co-signed a 1925 petition to repeal Paragraph 175 with prominent figures like Albert Einstein and created sixty plates for a Lutheran Bible between 1924 and 1929. After World War I, he painted public works and died on September 4, 1955.
Key facts
- Hans Lietzmann founded the Freilicht-Akt-Schule, an open-air nude painting school, at his villa-atelier Café Paradiso in Torbole sul Garda, Italy.
- Lietzmann settled in Torbole in 1899, after studying at the Academy of Berlin and living in Munich.
- The school attracted artists such as Marie Steinbecker, Tanna Kasimir-Hoernes, Oskar Lüthy, and Emmerich Schaffran.
- The Berlin magazine Die Schönheit helped popularize the school's images.
- In 1925, Lietzmann co-signed a petition to abolish Paragraph 175 of the German penal code, alongside Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Käthe Kollwitz, and Max Liebermann.
- Between 1924 and 1929, he created sixty illustrations for a Lutheran Bible, using local fishermen as models for biblical figures.
- After World War I, Café Paradiso was expropriated by the Italian government, but Lietzmann stayed in Torbole.
- He founded the Amici di Torbole association in 1912 and donated an olive grove as a public park.
- Lietzmann died on September 4, 1955, in Torbole sul Garda.
Entities
Artists
- Hans Lietzmann
- Marie Steinbecker
- Tanna Kasimir-Hoernes
- Oskar Lüthy
- Emmerich Schaffran
- Luigi Kasimir
- Albert Einstein
- Thomas Mann
- Hermann Hesse
- Käthe Kollwitz
- Max Liebermann
- Magnus Hirschfeld
Institutions
- Accademia di Berlino
- Café Paradiso
- Freilicht-Akt-Schule
- Der Blaue Reiter
- Die Schönheit
- Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee
- Preußische Hauptbibelgesellschaft
- Amici di Torbole
- Artribune
Locations
- Torbole
- Trentino
- Italy
- Lake Garda
- Berlin
- Munich
- Leipzig
- Vienna
- Sirmione
- Grotte di Catullo