(1887-1914)

Bright yellow, bright red, vivid blue: The intensity and unique brightness of the colours are typical of August Macke works. Macke pictures shows an intact world and people. August Macke was a painter man of the Rhenish exuberance and perhaps for this reason today, he is one of the most famous German painters of the 20th Century.

Macke was a member of the artists association "Blue Rider" and most important representatives of the Rhenish expressionism. He is considered as the greatest German true talent for colours of his generation. He is one of the greats in the art of the 20th Century with his drawings, sketches and drafts.

August Macke, born on 1.3.1887 in Meschede, began his studies at the school and academy in Dusseldorf, but broke it prematurely. On trips to France, Italy and the Netherlands, he studied the Impressionists. With the artists of the "Blue Rider", whom he knew since 1911 several times and participated in the eponymous Almanac. Financial backing was secured by his sponsor Bernhard Koehler, an uncle of his wife Elisabeth.

Macke had already found his style of unmistakable individuality. Analytical Cubism oriented tectonic composition of Cézanne and Matisse's two-dimensionality he combined with the pure colours of fauvism. The prismatic colours were the main elements with which August Macke composed his paintings. In this context the colours are scales of colourful shapes as the tones and chords of the musicians. His friendship in 1910 with Franz Marc allowed a stay at Tegernsee Lake. Pictures created here showed Macke's isensitivity to lighting effects, the famous Tunis journey increased in watercolours created in 1914 with Paul Klee and Louis Moillet. The Simplification of form and the luminosity of the colours label this series of works.

On the Cologne Sonderbund exhibition organized by Macke in 1913, were show his Rhenish Expressionists works for the first time together with those of the European avant-garde.

Together with his wife Elisabeth and his son Walter Macke lived in Switzerland since 1913. The family happiness last only briefly. At the beginning of the war August Macke was in battles with Perthes-les-Hurlus in Champagne on 09/26/1914. His friend Franz Marc commented: "The greedy war is a hero's death richer, but the German art hero have become poorer."

Günter Dietz developed a revolutionary method for the authentic reproduction of images, where not the usual printing inks are used, but the same original colors used by the artist. Depending on the artist's painting technique, up to 180 (!) various paint applications need to be applied in order to achieve a perfect replica of the original that also sensationally reflects the "relief" and pastosity of colour composition.

Here are the examples of  'Couple at the Garden Table' by August Macke:

Similarly, the material of the original carrier, such as reproduction on canvas, paper, wood, copper, parchment is always used.

The result is a perfect, gridless reproduction that comes very close to the original in expressiveness and effect. Even museum specialists often can not distinguish the replica from the original. Therefore, a special security notice must be inserted, which is visible only under X-rays.

The circulation of most of the Dietz replicas is limited, usualy to 950 copies. Each canvas replica is stretched onto a frame as the original, so you can retighten the canvas according to variations in room temperature and humidity. High-quality solid wood strips round off the image of every Dietz replica.

Numerous masterpiece paintings of Rembrandt, Caspar David Friedrich, Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt and various others have been recreated by the Dietz Offizin. Famous modern artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall used the method developed by Günter Dietz to have replicas of their works produced.

Press commentaries:

“The Dietz System provides images as good as the originals. What the electronics did with the invention of Hi-Fi and stereo for music playback - here the graphic technology made up for visual art.“ (Die Zeit)

“In theory there is no difference between the original and the Dietz replica. They should not be called reproductions, but facsimiles.“ (Newsweek)

“For art printers all over the world remains unrealizable to this day, what managed only Dietz with the help of printing technology: The perfect reproduction of painted works. “ (Der Spiegel)

Konrad Adenauer at the presentation of Dietz replica of the frieze "To the young St. Peter" (Bundeshaus Bonn)



Günter Dietz (on the left) and Marino Marini

The mold is usually taken directly from the original, so that the replica reproduces even the finest details. After casting the replica, using the most appropriate method, the surface is polished, patinated, gilded or painted according to the original.

A replica of ars mundi is a recognizable image of the original.

Artistic movement that replaced the Impressionism in the early 20th century.

Expressionism is the German form of the art revolution in painting, graphics and sculpture, which found its precursor in the works of Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in the late 19th century. The Expressionists tried to advance to the basic elements of painting. With vibrant, unbroken colors in large areas and with the emphasis on line and the resulting targeted suggestive expressiveness they fought against the artistic taste established by bourgeoisie.

The most important representatives of Expressionism were the founders of "Die Brücke" (The Bridge): Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Max Pechstein, Otto Mueller and Franz Marc, August Macke, among others.

Masters of Viennese Expressionism are Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka.

The Fauvism is the French form of Expressionism.

Related Links:
Brücke
Fauvism