Harry Rabinger
Encyclopedia
Harry Rabinger was a Luxembourg
artist who is remembered for his portraits and Expressionist landscape paintings, especially those of the industrial area in the south of the country.
district of Luxembourg City
on 25 February 1895, Rabinger started his art studies in Paris
but was forced to go to Munich
when war broke out in 1914. He completed his education by travelling widely, in particular to Hungary
, Austria
, Czechoslovakia
and the Netherlands
. It was in 1919 that he came into contact with the south of Luxembourg as an art teacher at the Ecole Industrielle et Commerciale and at the Lycée des Jeunes Filles in Esch-sur-Alzette
. At the time, industry was expanding rapidly in the area, providing him with vivid scenes of mines, factories, railways and buildings caked in rusty red coatings.
Although he first became a member of the Cercle artistique de Luxembourg
, he joined Joseph Kutter
, Nico Klopp
and others as a co-founder of the Luxembourg secession movement
which succeeded in promoting modern art
. After exhibiting his work both in Luxembourg and Brussels, he was charged by the State to paint his monumental work "Terres Rouges" (Red Lands) for the Luxembourg pavilion at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. In 1939, together with Jean Schaak, he exhibited large decorative panels at the New York fair
where he won an award for his "Ville de Luxembourg". After the war, he went through a difficult period, limiting himself to teaching. He died on 7 September 1966 at his home in Limpertsberg
.
and Brittany
with rocks, cliffs and rugged coastlines. But he also painted the quieter villages and valleys of the Moselle and the Alzette
and the mountains up in the Oesling
. As a young artist, he was first influenced by Impressionism
but soon developed an Expressionist
somewhat Fauvist
style with intense colouring and strong contrasts.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
artist who is remembered for his portraits and Expressionist landscape paintings, especially those of the industrial area in the south of the country.
Biography
Born in the PfaffenthalPfaffenthal
Pfaffenthal is a quarter in central Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg.In 2001, the quarter had a population of 1,208 people....
district of Luxembourg City
Luxembourg (city)
The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
on 25 February 1895, Rabinger started his art studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
but was forced to go to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
when war broke out in 1914. He completed his education by travelling widely, in particular to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It was in 1919 that he came into contact with the south of Luxembourg as an art teacher at the Ecole Industrielle et Commerciale and at the Lycée des Jeunes Filles in Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette is a commune with city status, in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second city, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 29,853 people...
. At the time, industry was expanding rapidly in the area, providing him with vivid scenes of mines, factories, railways and buildings caked in rusty red coatings.
Although he first became a member of the Cercle artistique de Luxembourg
Cercle artistique de Luxembourg
The Cercle artistique de Luxembourg or CAL, founded in 1893 as Cercle artistique luxembourgeois, is an association which brings together artists of all types with a view to supporting artistic work and art education in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg....
, he joined Joseph Kutter
Joseph Kutter
Joseph Jean Ferdinand Kutter is considered one of Luxembourg's most important painters. He was greatly influenced by the Impressionists but developed his own distinctive Expressionist style.-Early life:...
, Nico Klopp
Nico Klopp
Nico Klopp was a Luxembourg painter remembered above all for his post-impressionist paintings of scenes on the River Moselle where he lived.-Early life:...
and others as a co-founder of the Luxembourg secession movement
Salon de la Sécession
The Salon de la Sécession was an Avant-gardist art exhibition which was held in Luxembourg each year from 1927 to 1930. It was the main event of the Luxembourg Secession movement which had been founded in 1926 by a number of artists including Claus Cito, Nico Klopp, Joseph Kutter and Auguste...
which succeeded in promoting modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
. After exhibiting his work both in Luxembourg and Brussels, he was charged by the State to paint his monumental work "Terres Rouges" (Red Lands) for the Luxembourg pavilion at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. In 1939, together with Jean Schaak, he exhibited large decorative panels at the New York fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
where he won an award for his "Ville de Luxembourg". After the war, he went through a difficult period, limiting himself to teaching. He died on 7 September 1966 at his home in Limpertsberg
Limpertsberg
Limpertsberg is a quarter in north-western Luxembourg City, in the centre of Luxembourg.In the south, on the border with the main city is the Glacis, a large open air parking lot which hosts the annual Schueberfouer fair, the largest fair in the country...
.
Style
Rabinger's work varies from brightly coloured still lifes to startlingly realistic nudes and portraits, including his famous women with boyish hairdos. Above all, he is remembered for his landscapes of the wilds of NormandyNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
with rocks, cliffs and rugged coastlines. But he also painted the quieter villages and valleys of the Moselle and the Alzette
Alzette
The Alzette is a river with a length of 73 kilometers in France and Luxembourg. It is a right tributary of the Sauer.It rises in Thil near the town Villerupt in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, France. It crosses the border with Luxembourg after a few kilometres. In Lameschmillen it is joined...
and the mountains up in the Oesling
Oesling
The Oesling or Ösling is a region covering the northern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, within the greater Ardennes area that also covers parts of Belgium and France...
. As a young artist, he was first influenced by Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
but soon developed an Expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
somewhat Fauvist
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
style with intense colouring and strong contrasts.