Else Sohn-Rethel
Elisabeth "Else" Johanna Martha Maria Sohn-Rethel (14 March 1853 – 22 January 1933) was a German painter and singer, active in the mid and late 19th-century.[1]
Else Sohn-Rethel | |
|---|---|
 Else Sohn-Rethel (c.1870) in Dresden, Germany | |
| Born | Elisabeth Johanna Martha Maria Rethel 14 March 1853 Rome, Italy |
| Died | 22 January 1933 (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Nordfriedhof (Dresden) |
| Occupation | singer, painter |
| Spouse(s) | Karl Rudolf Sohn |
| Children | Alfred Sohn-Rethel, Otto Sohn-Rethel, Karli Sohn-Rethel, Mira Sohn-Rethel Heuser |
Biography
Elisabeth Johanna Martha Maria Rethel was born 14 March 1853 in Rome, Italy into an upper class German Jewish family.[2] Her mother was Marie Elisabeth Henrietta Philippina Grahl and her father was history painter, Alfred Rethel.[3][4] She was a descendant on her maternal line of the noble Oppenheim family,[4] her great grandfather was banker Martin Wilhelm Oppenheim. Her maternal grandfather was miniature painter and portraitist, August Grahl, and she was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents at Villa Rosa (in Dresden) due to her father's mental health issues.[4]
In 1873, she married painter Karl Rudolf Sohn at the Loschwitz church in Dresden.[5] After marriage she moved to Düsseldorf, where her husband's family lived.[4] Between 1860 and 1900, she took up the profession of singing because they needed more income, and as result she was welcomed in to Düsseldorf high society and would often perform at salons and other social gatherings.[4]
On 8 February 1875, Sohn-Rethel gave birth to her eldest son, Alfred Sohn-Rethel.[4] Her other children included Otto Sohn-Rethel (1877–1949), Karli Sohn-Rethel (1882–1966), and Mira Sohn-Rethel Heuser (1884–1974). The three sons became painters and her daughter married painter, Werner Heuser.[4]
In 1928, Sohn-Rethel wrote her memoirs, which was later edited and published as a book in 2016.[4]
Sohn-Rethel died on 22 January 1933 at her home in Düsseldorf, a few days before Adolf Hitler seized power.[4] She was buried in Nordfriedhof cemetery in Düsseldorf.[4]
Publications
- Pleschinski, Hans (2016). I Was Happy Whether it Was Raining or Not: the Memoirs of Else Sohn-Rethel. CHBeck. ISBN 9783406691669.
References
- "Sohn, Else or Sohn-Rethel". Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Oxford University Press. 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00171611. ISBN 9780199773787. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - "Lebenserinnerungen von Else Sohn-Rethel - Ein lebendiges und charmantes Epochenbild". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam). Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2001. ISBN 978-0-87099-991-8.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Böttcher, Kirsten (2016-06-01). "Else Sohn-Rethels Memoiren, Das Turbulente Leben einer Künstlergattin" [Else Sohn-Rethel's Memoirs, The Turbulent Life of an Artist's Wife]. Radio Bayern 2, Kultur. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- Flechtheim, Alfred; Mahlberg, Paul (2012-12-18). Beiträge zur Kunst des XIX. Jahrhunderts und unserer Zeit (in German). Forgotten Books. p. 50. ISBN 978-5-87969-354-6.
