Emil-Rudolf Weiß
Bildnis Renée Sintenis, 1929

Alfred Flechtheim and Emil-Rudolf Weiß

The German painter, graphic artist and typographer Emil Rudolf Weiss is considered an important representative of modern book art. During his time as a student he established an extensive network of names in the fields of contemporary literature and art. In 1895 he began his book art activities by devising fonts for the art magazine ‘Pan’. The art historian Julius Meier-Graefe was one of his early acquaintances and sponsors. Weiß’ initial graphic work was influenced by Symbolism and Jugendstil. Important points of reference were also the works of Edvard Munch and Felix Vallotton. From 1910 Weiß defined himself more and more as a painter, creating still lifes, portraits, landscapes and genre scenes. His works are characterised by a pastose application of paint over large areas and a preference for earthy shades of colour. In addition to his work as an artist, Weiß also taught at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Berlin in 1907-33 which, from 1924 onwards, was amalgamated with the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste. The sculptress Reneé Sintenis was his second wife whom he married in 1917. In 1933 Weiß was dismissed from his teaching post by the Nazis. He then moved from Berlin to the Black Forest and devoted himself exclusively to book and graphic design.

Emil Rudolf Weiß was represented by the Galerie Flechtheim from the 1920s onwards. Graphic works by Weiß were reproduced in several issues of Flechtheim’s magazine ‘Der Querschnitt’ from 1921. To start with, these included small decorative ornaments, followed later by figurative depictions and reproductions of oil paintings. Between 1924 and 1933 he also participated in several group exhibitions at the Galerie Flechtheim in Düsseldorf, Berlin and Frankfurt. In addition Weiß was on the organising committee for Flechtheim’s 50^th birthday celebrations in 1928.