Felix Nussbaum

Felix Nussbaum - Studies with Paul Plontke and Hans Meid; liaison with Felka Platek

Felix Nussbaum was born on 11th December 1904, the second son of Philipp and Rahel Nussbaum. His parents were reformed Jews, and his father Philipp Nussbaum was a successful businessman and ardent patriot who fought for Germany in the First World War out of conviction. As an enthusiastic amateur painter, he encouraged his son's interest in painting and welcomed his decision to study at the School of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg. Felix Nussbaum later moved to Berlin, where he was initially taught by César Klein and Paul Plontke at the Vereinigte Staatsschulen and was eventually accepted as a master student by Hans Meid. It was here that the artist also met his future wife, the Polish-born painter Felka Platek. Nussbaum did not actually hold much regard for the marriage, something he made clear as early as 1930 when he drew a suit of armour with folded arms for his illustrations of a wedding poem. The fact that he married Felka Platek after all in 1937 was merely a formal act intended to prevent difficulties with the Belgian authorities in terms of residence law, as Belgium was to become a new home for the artist.

Major exhibition successes in Berlin; escape to Belgium

Felix Nussbaum and Felka Platek had not come to Belgium voluntarily; the National Socialists' seizure of power and their merciless hatred of everything Jewish had driven them from their home in Berlin. Before this, everything had been developing brilliantly there, with Nussbaum able to present his art at numerous exhibitions, all of which were great successes for the painter. He had a solo exhibition at the Casper Gallery in Berlin, travelled across France and studied the works of van Gogh, and his painting Der tolle Pariser Platz, in which he parodied the pompous arrogance of the Berlin Art Academy and in particular its president Max Liebermann, brought him his final breakthrough. A scholarship from the Villa Massimo took him to Rome, where things suddenly took a turn for the worse: After a physical altercation with fellow artist Hanns Hubertus Graf von Merveldt, Nussbaum was expelled from the academy. In the meantime, the National Socialists had come to power, thus preventing their return to Berlin, and so the artist couple Nussbaum and Platek began a flight lasting several years, which ultimately ended in Belgium. 

The death of art: persecuted, denounced and murdered

Felix Nussbaum not only had to fear for his life, but also for his art: He had already lost a large part of his work to arson in 1932. Despite this, the painter did not stop painting, as he saw it as the only way to preserve his dignity and freedom. An art dealer friend secretly gave Felix Nussbaum and his wife shelter, and the artist painted in a second apartment so as not to give away his hiding place with the penetrating smell of paint and turpentine. However, a denunciation led to the Wehrmacht arresting and deporting the couple.

Felix Nussbaum was murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp after 20th September 1944. His wife Felka Platek very probably had to share her husband's fate. Belgian friends of the artist ensured that at least the works he created in exile were preserved for posterity.