The life of Hans Purrmann

Eva Zimmermann (Text)
Angelika Fischer (Photographs)

Tradition dictated that Hans Purrmann (1880-1966) should take over his father’s painting business in Speyer. However, he began his training as a painter at the age of twenty, which led him to Paris via Munich and Berlin. Until 1914, he lived in the capital of modern art, moved in the artistic circle of the Café du Dôme and met Henri Matisse, who became his friend and teacher, alongside many painters and writers. On trips to the Mediterranean coast, Hans Purrmann became enthusiastic about the southern climate, the light and the colors, to which he was drawn again and again. The First World War forced him back to Germany. For many years he spent the winters in Berlin, where he was involved in the art world, and the summers at his country house in Langenargen on Lake Constance. He also traveled extensively and spent long periods in Italy and France. Scolded by the National Socialists as a “Frenchman”, Hans Purrmann moved to Florence in 1935 as director of the Villa Romana. The fighting of the Second World War drove him to Switzerland, where he found his last home in the picturesque Casa Camuzzi in Montagnola. He spent twenty-two years in the small village above Lake Lugano. Once again, he became part of a circle of artists that included Hermann Hesse, who had been friends with Hans Purrmann for many years.

48 pages, numerous illustrations
ISBN: 978-3-937434-35-3
Price: 12,00 €