Christian Rohlfs

Christian Rohlfs (November 22, 1849 - January 8, 1938) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the important representatives of German expressionism.

Early life and education

He was born in Groß Niendorf, Kreis Segeberg in Prussia. He took up painting as a teenager while convalescing from an infection He began his formal artistic education in Berlin, Rohlfs was the first artist to begin to work there.

In 1908, at the age of 60, he made his first prints after seeing an exhibition of works by the expressionist group Die Brücke. He went on to make 185 in total, almost all woodcuts or linocuts.

In May 1922 he attended the International Congress of Progressive Artists and signed the "Founding Proclamation of the Union of Progressive International Artists". In 1937 the Nazis expelled him from the Prussian Academy of Arts, condemned his work as degenerate, and removed his works from public collections. He has often been viewed as one of the first Expressionists.

Reception After his death, the German Nazi authorities prohibited the sale of his paintings. Commemorative exhibitions were organized by the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Berner Kunsthalle.

Recognition In 1929 the town of Hagen opened a Christian Rohlfs Museum. Honorary citizen of Hagen Honorary Doctorate by University of Kiel Honorary Doctorate by University of Aachen

Works