Jean Leppien is relativity unknown in the United States, yet in France and Germany he is known and admired for his artistic achievements. The Musee d'Art et d'Histoire in Cholet, France, is just wrapping up a major show of his work (11/2017).
If Leppien's life was made into a movie, it would be a thriller, with a remarkable ending. He was born in 1910 with a given name so long only a German family could come up with it: Kurt Gottfried Johannes Leppien. He was conceived and raised in Luneberg, Germany, where his father was a manufacturer and his mother a weaver. Before his death in 1991, his home town named a street in his honor.
He took to art early, and his father set up a studio on the main floor of their home to let Leppien practice his artwork. The Bauhaus movement was beginning in Europe around 1919. In 1929, Leppien road his bike quite a distance to register for school at the Bauhaus - Dessau. He did not stay at the Bauhaus for long, but got to study under Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Josef Albers, which influenced his work for the rest of his life. He moved on from the Bauhaus to study photography at Itten (School) and studied/worked in the Moholy-Nagy's Studio in Berlin until 1933, when the Nazis came to power and declared abstract art "Degenerate".
Germany was no longer safe for Leppien so he left for France and settled in Paris to continue his painting. With the outbreak of war, he lived as part of the underground movement in Roquebrune and Aples Maritimes, then joined the French Foreign Legion, where he aided the resistance.
Lippien is captured, arrested and deported back to Germany in 1944, where he was imprisoned. He was liberated by American Forces (April 24, 1945) just one day before he was scheduled to die. With the end of the war, he returned to Paris at age 35 and was rejoined with his wife who had been a prisoner at Auschwitz. They settled in the French Riviera.
All of his past Bauhaus inspired art work was destroyed by the Nazis. He started fresh all over again and within two years he was exhibiting and gathering a following. In 1949 he had his first major one-man show at the prestigious Galerie Colette Allendy. Between his first major one-man show and his death, he exhibited widely in France, Germany and Austria. After his death, a major retrospective was organized in 1997 at the Galerie Lahumiere, Paris. Other major shows are still be launched today.
Lippien had a full path of encounters and a prestigious education, studying under famous artists that compose modern art history. These instructors were instrumental to his ascent as a noted abstractionist, as well as being a driving force of constructivism.
It is said that Leppien liked colors, geometric shapes and their connections with each other. As in the case with "Three Windows" (below), Leppien, used trapezoids, triangles, straight and angled lines to build the composition. The three windows are outlined in black with touches of red, that provides areas of focus and anchors the eye movement. The largest window has three small red triangles that sends a message to the one and only red triangle that is outside the black framed windows at the bottom of the composition.
Leppien was influenced by the color studies of Itten. Leppien uses a granny smith apple green then adds black to that color to create values of the original hue. Additionally, he adds red elements inside the windows to provide contrast to the green. When these two colors are paired, the green enhances the red in the composition. Leppien was a man who had been fully trained in color theory.
References:
It should be noted that Jean Leppien's work in this example is much like the work of Walter Allner. Allner also studied at the Bauhaus under the same instructors and became a famous Art Director for Fortune Magazine, handling graphic design and layout for years. Allner was known for his designs, and Leppien for his art.
If Leppien's life was made into a movie, it would be a thriller, with a remarkable ending. He was born in 1910 with a given name so long only a German family could come up with it: Kurt Gottfried Johannes Leppien. He was conceived and raised in Luneberg, Germany, where his father was a manufacturer and his mother a weaver. Before his death in 1991, his home town named a street in his honor.
He took to art early, and his father set up a studio on the main floor of their home to let Leppien practice his artwork. The Bauhaus movement was beginning in Europe around 1919. In 1929, Leppien road his bike quite a distance to register for school at the Bauhaus - Dessau. He did not stay at the Bauhaus for long, but got to study under Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Josef Albers, which influenced his work for the rest of his life. He moved on from the Bauhaus to study photography at Itten (School) and studied/worked in the Moholy-Nagy's Studio in Berlin until 1933, when the Nazis came to power and declared abstract art "Degenerate".
Germany was no longer safe for Leppien so he left for France and settled in Paris to continue his painting. With the outbreak of war, he lived as part of the underground movement in Roquebrune and Aples Maritimes, then joined the French Foreign Legion, where he aided the resistance.
Lippien is captured, arrested and deported back to Germany in 1944, where he was imprisoned. He was liberated by American Forces (April 24, 1945) just one day before he was scheduled to die. With the end of the war, he returned to Paris at age 35 and was rejoined with his wife who had been a prisoner at Auschwitz. They settled in the French Riviera.
All of his past Bauhaus inspired art work was destroyed by the Nazis. He started fresh all over again and within two years he was exhibiting and gathering a following. In 1949 he had his first major one-man show at the prestigious Galerie Colette Allendy. Between his first major one-man show and his death, he exhibited widely in France, Germany and Austria. After his death, a major retrospective was organized in 1997 at the Galerie Lahumiere, Paris. Other major shows are still be launched today.
Lippien had a full path of encounters and a prestigious education, studying under famous artists that compose modern art history. These instructors were instrumental to his ascent as a noted abstractionist, as well as being a driving force of constructivism.
It is said that Leppien liked colors, geometric shapes and their connections with each other. As in the case with "Three Windows" (below), Leppien, used trapezoids, triangles, straight and angled lines to build the composition. The three windows are outlined in black with touches of red, that provides areas of focus and anchors the eye movement. The largest window has three small red triangles that sends a message to the one and only red triangle that is outside the black framed windows at the bottom of the composition.
Leppien was influenced by the color studies of Itten. Leppien uses a granny smith apple green then adds black to that color to create values of the original hue. Additionally, he adds red elements inside the windows to provide contrast to the green. When these two colors are paired, the green enhances the red in the composition. Leppien was a man who had been fully trained in color theory.
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Three Windows, Signed in Pencil
Serigraph, #144/300 in Ink - lower margin
Color Lithograph, Circa 1954, Edition Art d'anjourd 'hui, Paris Image size: 17 3/4" by 13", Sheet 25 1/4" by 19 1/4" Documented: March 31st, 2008 - Auction Gallery of Palm Beach Inc. |
- Dictionary of Abstract Painting, Michel Seuphor, 1957, France
- Who's Who in Art, Sixteenth Edition, Great Britain, 1972
- Galerie Michelle Champtier, Cannes, France, Website (print was used as a catologue cover)
- 1964 Brochure, Leppien, State University of New York, Binghamton, Kenneth C. Lindsay
It should be noted that Jean Leppien's work in this example is much like the work of Walter Allner. Allner also studied at the Bauhaus under the same instructors and became a famous Art Director for Fortune Magazine, handling graphic design and layout for years. Allner was known for his designs, and Leppien for his art.
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Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art is a research collaborative, working to track artists that got lost and overlooked due to time, changing styles, race, gender and/or sexual orientation. Our frequent blogs highlight artists and art movements that need renewed attention with improved information for the researcher and art collectors. These photos were created by Mr. Waller and all materials are used under the Fair Use Section 107, Copyright Act, unless otherwise noted. #waller-yoblonskyblogspot #jeanleppien #leppien
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