Hermann Stenner: A Pioneer of German Expressionism

The painter Hermann Stenner (1891–1914) was one of the outstanding talents of the 20th century. It is impressive to note that he achieved his rapid artistic development and distinct pictorial language during just five years of study and creative work. His remarkably extensive oeuvre is being rediscovered today following his death at an early age during the First World War.

Stenner was born in Bielefeld and belonged to the circle of Westphalian Expressionists as well as the “Hölzel Circle”. His career began very promisingly. After attending the painting class at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, he transferred to Adolf Hölzel and became the latter’s master student in 1912. The following year Stenner was already participating in important exhibitions in Germany and abroad; his works were shown beside those of artists like Egon Schiele and Max Slevogt. In 1914, only a few months before he died in the war, he executed the cycle of wall paintings in the entrance hall of the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne – now destroyed – together with Oskar Schlemmer and Willi Baumeister.