Fritz Brandtner (1896-1969)
Born in Danzig, (then Germany), in 1896, Fritz Brandtner was conscripted into the German Army in 1915. He spent most of the war as a prisoner of war, in France. After World War One, he returned to Germany, and studied art at the University of Danzig where he taught life drawing in the Architecture Department. During this period, he became greatly interested in the work of the German Expressionists, such as Kirchner and Kandinsky, whose works he studied at the Danzig Civic Gallery.
He immigrated to Canada in 1928 and settled in Winnipeg. It was very difficult for an artist to make a living during this period, so he was forced to do odd jobs before landing a position at Brigden’s as a commercial artist and designer. There he met and became friends with Lemoine Fitzgerald. It was Brandtner who introduced Fitzgerald to Modernism and the work of the German Expressionists. Brandtner found that he had a great deal of trouble having his style of work recognized by members of the Winnipeg art scene. Fitzgerald suggested that he would be more successful in a cosmopolitan centre, like Montreal. Before leaving Winnipeg for Montreal, the Winnipeg School of Art held a farewell exhibition of 150 of Brandtner’s works.
Brandtner arrived in Montreal in 1934, with an introduction from Fitzgerald to the Montreal art critic, Robert Ayre. Ayre, in turn, introduced him around to other Montreal artists. At an exhibition of his works in 1936, Brandtner met Dr. Norman Bethune. Through Bethune, Brandtner became involved in the Children’s Art Centre and the art program for crippled children at the Children’s Memorial Hospital.Brandtner juggled his art education endeavors, with his own studio time. He painted in oils and watercolour, but also carved linoleum, which he then painted. He worked in a limited palette of blacks, reds and blues. Carving images into linoleum worked for him because, in his words, “linoleum calls up ideas that lead us away from pure representation and towards the abstract..” According to Louis Muhlstock, “The key to Brandtner’s success…is the underlying structure of their semi-abstract design.” Brandtner was a champion of modern art in Canada and his work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Musée de Québec, Q. City.
Ref:
A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Vol.1, by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks, Ottawa, Revised and expanded, 1997
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Fritz Brandtner (1896-1969)'s Artwork
Abstraction
oils on board
Signed lower centre
Signed on the reverse
5” x 5 1/4”
Provenance: Private collection, Montreal
Kastel Gallery, Montreal
Wife of the artist
SOLD
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Lake View
Watercolours and ink on paper
Signed lower right
17” x 22”
Provenance: Private collection, Montreal
SOLD
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Self Portrait
Oil on board
Signed and dated ‘45 lower right
19 1/2” x 12”
Provenance: Estate of Paul Kastel
Exhibited: Galérie Jean Pierre Valentin, Montreal
Confederation Art Gallery and Museum, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
SOLD
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“Abstraction”, circa 1950
Mixed media on board
Signed lower center
Signed on the reverse and inscribed by Fritz Brandtner- “hot wax painting, burning-in process
15” x 20”
Provenance; The estate of Paul Kastel
Exhibited: “The Brave New World”, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Cat. #62, Page 80
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Abstraction
Oil on canvas
Signed
40” x 50”
Provenance: Private collection, Montreal
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Wild Horses
Coloured Inks
Signed
5 3/4” x 6 1/4”
Provenance: Kastel Gallery, Montreal
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“Annunciation”
Ink and watercolour
Signed with initials lower right; titled on a label on the reverse
7 1/2” x 6””
Provenance: Estate of Paul Kastel, Montreal
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Still Life subjects, circa 1942
Mixed media on paper
Signed lower right
6” x 9”
Provenance: Estate of Paul Kastel
$2,500.00
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“Rough Idea”
Woodcut in colours
Signed lower right and titled lower left
8 1/2” x 5 1/2”
Provenance: Estate of Paul Kastel
Exhibited: Galérie Valentin,” Fritz Brandtner Retrospective”, September 2011
SOLD
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Abstraction
Mixed media on paper
Signed lower left
4 1/2” x 6”
Provenance: Estate of Paul Kastel
$1,600.00
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Untitled
Linocut, 1930
6 1/2” x 4”
Signed and dated 1930 lower right
Numbered 10/50 lower left
$1,150.00
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“The Welder”
Watercolours on paper
Signed and dated ‘43
8 1/2” x 5 3/4”
Inscribed “The Welder”, Vickers Institute 1943 on the reverse
Provenance: Estate of Paul Kastel
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Seated Figure
Charcoals on paper
Signed
16” x 10”
Private collection, Montreal
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