Biernath, Irmgard (1905-1998), Homage à Kahnweiler, 1984
Irmgard Biernath(1905 Waldheim in Saxony - 1998 Mainz), Hommage à Kahnweiler , 1984. Terracotta relief, burnished red body, 43.5 x 38 cm, mounted on support plate, in wooden frame 57 x 49.5 cm, monogrammed "IB" at lower right.
- Isolated patina losses, but overall good condition, frame slightly bumped.
- The Appearance of Genius -
This homage to Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler shows the gallerist and art theorist as Pablo Picasso portrayed him in his lithographic portrait of 1957.
As an innovative Parisian gallery owner, Kahnweiler had exclusively represented Picasso since 1911, while Picasso had painted his famous portrait of Kahnweiler the previous year as a major work of Cubism. And it is Picasso who appears at the centre of Irmgard Biernath's image. Here, his face echoes the features of the self-portrait he painted in 1907 in the Prague National Gallery.
His eyes are wide open as he gazes into the distance, surrounded by the works of his artistic vision that have already taken shape. On the right is the bronze "Man with Sheep" from 1943, and on the left a flower representing Picasso's painterly work.
Kahnweiler, who was closely associated with Picasso's work, looks at the sculptures on the table in front of him with great attention and admiration. His head joins the sculptures and the flower to form a circle that surrounds Picasso's face like a wreath of honor, so the homage to Kahnweiler is first and foremost a homage to Picasso. As a sculptor inspired by Picasso's work, Irmgard Biernath herself follows in the footsteps of the artistic genius, whose face she makes appear on her relief as on the sweat shroud of Veronica.
About the artist
Irmgard Biernath worked as a teacher in Berlin from 1929. Because of her denunciation in 1941, she voluntarily resigned from teaching. After the Second World War, she followed her true calling as an artist and studied from 1946 at the Berlin-Weißensee School of Art with Bernhard Heiliger and from 1948 at the Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts, where she was a master student of Hans Wimmer, among others. To earn a living, she taught art at the Anne Frank Realschule in Mainz from 1953 to 1971, for which she created a bust of Anne Frank. From 1958 to 1964 she was also a lecturer at the University Institute for Art and Work Education in Mainz. In addition, she was active at the Volkshochschule (adult education center), where she established the field of art education with her concept "Forming Hands" and left her mark for decades. From the 1960s on, Irmgard Biernath devoted herself more and more to her own work, working exclusively as a freelance artist since 1971.
Irmgard Biernath's artistic estate is housed in the museum of her hometown of Waldheim, where the Irmgard Biernath Foundation is also located.
Irmgard Biernath received numerous awards. Among others, she received the Federal Cross of Merit in 1976, the Rembrandt Medal in 1990, and the Mainz Plate, also in 1990.
Exhibitions
Kennen Sie ...? Biernath! Werke aus dem Nachlass der Bildhauerin Irmgard Biernath, Kulturzentrum Waldheim 2011.
Harmonie und Gleichgewicht im Werk der Irmgard Biernath, Stadt- und Museumshaus Waldheim, 2022.
Selected Bibliography
Irmgard Biernath (Hrsg.): Irmgard Biernath, Mainz 1990.
Marlene Hübel: Irmgard Biernath. Ein Lebenswerk, Mainz 1995.
Saur. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Band 10, München - Leipzig 1995, S. 576-577.