Was Arthur Fitger, born in Delmenhorst in 1840, a central artistic figure? He emerged as an important history painter. He was a celebrated decorative painter. His murals of religious and mythological scenes were highly sought after. These decorated prestigious interiors. They decorated public buildings like the Bremen Stock Exchange. They also decorated the Oldenburg Palace Hall. Private residences also sought his art. Today, we stand before Haus Coburg. It holds the Städtische Galerie. This gallery has the largest collection of Fitger’s works in Germany.
Haus Coburg’s collection reaches back to the 19th century. It includes painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, and installation art. The collection focuses on artists from Herwarth Walden’s avant-garde gallery DER STURM. The collection includes artists with ties to Delmenhorst. These include Arthur Fitger, Fritz Stuckenberg, and Marianne Mangels.
Hans Stephan, director of the Städtische Galerie until 1989, saw Arthur Fitger as central. Fitger published poetry. He critiqued painting, poetry, music, and theater. He wrote for the arts and culture section of the newspaper.
Fitger’s taste in art lost appeal. This happened with the rise of Impressionism. It also happened with plein air painting. He criticized art from the Worpswede art colony. He called it barren potato naturalism. He died in Horn near Bremen in 1909. His works were commissioned for specific architectures. They are rarely found in public art collections.
Fritz Stuckenberg’s estate has been on permanent loan to Haus Coburg since 1998. Barbara Alms stewarded the collection from 1989 to 2010. She made a significant collection of the artist’s work available. This was for exhibition and research purposes. It also included his private correspondence and library. Alms expanded the Fritz Stuckenberg holdings. These were works created in Paris and Berlin. He lived and worked there in the 1910s and 20s. This provided important context for modern art movements.
Fritz Stuckenberg was well-versed in artistic styles. He was adept at naturalism. He also mastered Post-Impressionism and abstraction. He created Cubo-Futuristic prints. He painted sexually evocative symbolism and religious spiritualism. He lived in Paris from 1907 to 1912. He frequented the Café du Dôme. This was a meeting place for German artists. Impressed by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Robert Delaunay he turned away from academic painting. He relied on the dynamics of colours. He shifted to a brighter palette.
In subsequent years in Berlin, the avant-garde movement became Stuckenberg’s reference point. He was a guest at Herwarth Walden’s home. He was a friend of Heinrich Campendonk, Georg Muche, and Arnold Topp. He knew the authors Paul van Ostaijen and Salomo Friedlaender. Stuckenberg was represented at international exhibitions.
Haus Coburg features exhibitions about Delmenhorst. Thomas Putze brought the city’s water tower alive with a sound installation in 2010. In 2014, Kasia Fudakowski calculated the property value of Villa Coburg. She addressed the Coburg family’s patriarchal mindset. The Delmenhorster Graft served as the stage for a project by Gabriela Oberkofler in 2016. Frederik Værslev realized a series of paintings in 2019. He recreated the windows of Villa Coburg. He used them as frames for his floral motifs. In 2018, Georg Winter proposed an alternative usage for the Wollepark neighborhood. He used sheep as neighbors. These site-specific productions turn buildings into artistic subject matter. They use the surroundings as an exhibition space. They engage audiences in urban life.
In 2021, Matilda Felix became director of the Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst. Arthur Fitger and Fritz Stuckenberg, among others, left their mark here. Haus Coburg remains a place of artistic exploration. It fosters dialogue between the past and the present. It encourages new perspectives on art and society.