Black House
also: Künstlerkolonie Solingen · Solingen Artists' Colony · Schwarzes Haus
The Solingen Artists' Colony, known as the 'Black House,' is a community of painters formed around two half-timbered studio houses in Solingen, Germany. Its roots lie in the literary salon of Erna Heinen-Steinhoff and the journalist Hanns Heinen, whose home drew figures from Sigrid Undset to Rabindranath Tagore; the painter Erwin Bowien joined their circle in the late 1920s. After the Second World War, Bowien, Bettina Heinen-Ayech and Amud Uwe Millies became known as Solingen's 'triumvirate of painters.' Working against the prevailing fashion for abstraction, they painted portraits, landscapes, cityscapes and everyday scenes on painting trips across Europe, North Africa and beyond. Admitted to the European Federation of Artists' Colonies in 2023, the colony remains a site of exhibitions and scholarship.
Defining characteristics
- Figurative, representational painting maintained against mid-century abstraction
- Landscape and cityscape painted from direct observation on extensive travels
- Portraiture and scenes of everyday life as core subjects
- On-the-spot handling of light in landscape, with pastel ranked alongside oil
- Close-knit, salon-based practice: shared studios, shared journeys, shared subjects
Key figures
- Erwin Bowien (1899-1972) — Painter and memoirist who anchored the colony and its salon
- Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1937-2020) — Painter of Algerian landscapes who trained under Bowien
- Erna Heinen-Steinhoff (1898-1969) — Host of the literary and cultural salon at the colony's heart
- Hanns Heinen (1895-1961) — Poet and journalist whose household founded the circle
Example works
- Egmond aan Zee — Erwin Bowien (1937)
- Summer Thunderstorm in Algeria — Bettina Heinen-Ayech (1971)
Sources
- Black House - Wikipedia encyclopedia