Hans Brasch

Hans Brasch (2 April 1882 – 13 May 1973) was a German expressionist painter. Since his death, his reputation has been based primarily on his portraits. Other favourite subjects included still lifes of flowers and landscapes featuring the hill country and forests of south-west Germany. Readers of the (by English standards rather mildly) satirical magazine Fliegende Blätter were also able to enjoy his line drawings during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Life Hans Brasch was born in Karlsruhe. He was one of four siblings, but the others were all girls. His father - another Johannes Brasch - was a painter and decorator who also produced stage sets for the city theatre and was in addition a talented amateur producer of his own works. His talents were acknowledged and appreciated in and around Karlsruhe. The father had very firmly held views about the path that his son's career should follow: little Hans should prepare to take over his father's business. The father would be disappointed.

In 1930, Hans Brasch left the idyllic Black Forest countryside and returned to city life. The city in question, this time, was Stuttgart. During the 1930s he produced a number of large wall paintings and window glass images in public buildings. He also took a prominent part in the cultural life of Stuttgart. All this meant that he enjoyed a heightened public profile. At the start of 1933 the Hitler government took power and rapidly transformed Germany into a one-party dictatorship. There is little indication that Brasch had ever shown much interest in politics. Nevertheless, in 1937 the authorities declared that his art was "degenerate". Those of his works on display in public museums were confiscated and removed. He continued to work on perfecting his paintings, however, and exhibiting his works in non-public galleries both in Germany and abroad.

Hans Brasch died at Murrhardt, a short distance outside Stuttgart, on 13 May 1973, approximately six weeks after his ninety-first birthday.