Christian Rohlfs

Christian Rohlfs (* December 22, 1849 in Groß Niendorf, Kreis Segeberg; † January 8, 1938 in Hagen) was a German painter of the modern era.

Christian Rohlfs was born on December 20, 1849, as the youngest son of a smallholder in Niendorf. At the age of 15, he injured his right knee and had to spend two years in bed.

During this time of illness, Christian Rohlfs began to draw. The poet Theodor Storm, who saw the boy's drawings, sent him in 1869 to the art critic Ludwig Pietsch in Berlin. Pietsch provided him with a letter of recommendation for the Grand Ducal Academy in Weimar, where Rohlfs studied from 1870 to 1874. He received support from the Grand Duke, allowing Rohlfs to live and work financially secure for many years. In 1871, his leg condition worsened, and in 1873, his right leg was finally amputated. In 1876, Rohlfs transferred to the Academy in Weimar.

From 1884, Christian Rohlfs worked as a freelance painter. In 1901, he met Karl Ernst Osthaus through Henry van de Velde.

Osthaus invited him to the planned Folkwang School in Hagen, although the school never opened. In 1903, Rohlfs saw works by Vincent van Gogh and contemporary French painters for the first time at the Folkwang Museum. The beginnings of Rohlfs's painting style stem from the Naturalism of the Weimar School of Painting, before he began to lean towards Impressionism around 1880. In the 1890s, his paintings became more vibrant in color. Through a neo-impressionist phase, Christian Rohlfs arrived at his expressive late style around 1906. His turn towards Expressionism likely occurred after meeting Emil Nolde, whom Rohlfs got to know in 1905 during his summer stay in Soest. Rohlfs created his most significant works in the following years, already over 50 years old. The most powerful pieces were painted between the ages of 70 and 80. In 1907, Christian Rohlfs joined the "Sonderbund westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler," led by Karl Ernst Osthaus. In 1911, he became a member of the "Neuen Secession," and in 1914, of the "Freien Secession." To honor his 75th birthday, the city of Hagen appointed him an honorary citizen, and in the same year, Rohlfs also became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts. In 1937, Rohlfs was denounced by the Nazis and received a ban on exhibitions. 412 of his works were removed from German museums as "degenerate art." From 1927 to 1937, Christian Rohlfs spent every summer in Ascona. In 1929, the Christian Rohlfs Museum was established in Hagen in honor of his 80th birthday. Christian Rohlfs passed away in Hagen on January 8, 1938.