Dear mikey450,
I finally managed to view the image showing the entire painting. Using
special software, I enlaged the part with the signature and then
carefully analyzed it, considering all possible interpretations.
Finally I came to the conclusion that the signature must definitely be
"Willgerodt".
Willgerodt is a rare German family name. So I went to the library and
consulted the various art encyclopedias. And I was successful: There
was one single painter of the name Willgerodt. Here is what I found
out about him:
Willgerodt, Werner
Portrait and landscape painter, graphic artist. Born on 27 June 1885
in Braunschweig. Student of the academy of Kassel under L. Koltiz, C.
Brünner and K. Wünnenberg, and of the academy of Königsberg under
Heinrich Wolff. Working in the town of Arolsen. Drawings portfolios:
Rothenburg ob der Tauber (12 drawings), Westerwald forest (24
drawings), Weather (12 drawings), Harz mountains (12 drawings), Home
Country Dillkreis (12 drawings).
Literature:
Dreßler's Kunsthandbuch, 1930/III
Hessenkunst, 1925, p.1 ff (with illustration)
Hessenkunst, 1929, p.7 of the advertisement chapter
Catalog of the Great Art Exhibition, Berlin 1924, p.82
Source:
Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, edited by Hans Vollmer.
Volume 36. Published by E.A. Seemann, Leipzig 1947.
Since Willgerodt's date of death is not mentioned in that 1947
encyclopedia article, it is possible that he was still alive and
working then. However, the current 1999 edition of that art
encyclopedia does not list the date of death either.
By the way: The painting you own depicts, without any doubt, the
Lüneburger Heide [Lüneburg Heath], a picturesque region in North
Germany I am familiar with.
I hope that this information is helpful and interesting for you.
Best regards,
Scriptor |
Clarification of Answer by
scriptor-ga
on
14 Oct 2004 09:31 PDT
A brief addition: I found Werner Willgerodt mentioned in a description
of the history of the Christian Rauch School in Arolsen, where the
artist lived and worked according to the encyclopedia article:
"Thus, it seemed on 26 November 1945 that for the 85 boys and 71 girls
who stayed in the classes they had belonged to in March 1945,
education was assured by director Heinemann, Marianne Schwede and
Werner Willgerodt, who were recognized as politically unencumbered
persons. (...) With this small teaching staff, 'lesson hour zero'
began at Arolsen grammar school in winter 1945/46."
Source:
Christian Rauch Schule - Bad Arolsen: Geschichte - Vom Kriegsende bis
zur Bildungsreform (PDF file)
http://www.crs-multimedial.de/geschichte/05.pdf
I have not the slightest doubt that this Werner Willgerodt is the same
person, given the rareness of the name in connection with the small
town. This might be some interesting background information, and it
proves that Werner Willgerodt was still alive in late 1945.
Regards,
Scriptor
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