Heinrich Zille
As a genuine Berlin original, »Pinselheinrich« depicted the milieu of Berlin's working-class neighbourhoods and backyards in a socially critical, humorous and sympathetic manner. He drew children with great dedication, combined his drawings with rough dialogues in typical dialect and did not shy away from the hearty or even the dirty, which is impressively demonstrated by series of pictures that can certainly be described as pornographic, such as the »Hurengespraeche« (Conversations with whores).
curriculum vitae
| 1858 | born in Radeburg near Dresden |
| 1861 | Family relocates to Dresden |
| 1868-1875 | After the family settles in Berlin first apprenticeship with the stone draughtsman Fritz Hecht |
| also studies under Theodor Hosemann and Carl Domschke at the Koenigliche Kunstschule in Berlin | |
| 1875-1877 | Worked as a commercial artist and retoucher, including as a trainee at the Lithografieanstalt Winckelmann & Soehne, where he specialised in numerous printing techniques |
| 1877-1880 | Assistant for photographic retouching at the Photographische Gesellschaft Berlin at Doenhoffplatz |
| 1880-1882 | Military service as a grenadier in the Leib-Grenadier-Regiment in Frankfurt (Oder) and as a guard soldier in the Sonnenburg prison |
| 1882 | Dismissal from the military and re-employment at the Photographische Gesellschaf |
| 1883 | Marriage to Hulda Frieske in Fuerstenwalde, children Margarete (1884), Hans (1888) and Walther (1891) |
| 1892 | Last move to a three-room flat at Sophie-Charlotten-Straße 88 in Berlin-Charlottenburg |
| 1903 | Member of the recently founded Berlin Secession |
| Starts collaboration on the Munich satirical magazine »Simplicissimus«, from 1905 illustrations for »Jugend« and »Lustige Blaetter« | |
| 1906 | Member of the Deutscher Kuenstlerbund (DKB) |
| 1907 | Fired from the Photographische Gesellschaft after 30 years because of his socially critical graphics |
| has since worked as a self-employed graphic artist, draughtsman and illustrator | |
| 1908 | First edition of his popular milieu drawings with »Kinder der Straße« and »Berliner Rangen« in the series Künstlerhefte published by Dr Eysler & Co. Berlin |
| 1909 | Success of the portfolio »Zwoelf Kuenstlerdrucke« with heliogravures of hand drawings and etchings makes him nationally known |
| 1910 | Awarded the Menzel Prize by the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung |
| 1913 | Leaves the Berlin Secession and founds the Freie Secession together with his long-time protégé Max Liebermann |
| 1914 | Edition of the celebrated illustrated book »Mein Milljoeh« |
| 1921 | Acquisition of drawings by the Berliner Nationalgalerie |
| 1924 | Nomination as professor and member of the Preußische Akademie der Kuenste |
| 1928 | Retrospective »Zilles Werdegang« at the Maerkisches Museum Berlin |
