Else Berg
{{Short description|Dutch painter (1877–1942)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Else Berg
| image = Else Berg Selfportrait 1917.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Self-portrait (1917)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1877|2|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = Ratibor, Silesia, German Empire
| death_date = {{death date and age|1942|11|19|1877|2|19|df=y}}
| death_place = Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland
| nationality = German, Dutch
| education = Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Berlin University of the Arts
| field = Painting
| training =
| movement = Bergense School
| works =
| patrons =
| awards =
| spouse = Mommie Schwarz
}}
Else Berg (19 February 1877–19 November 1942) was a German-born Dutch painter of Jewish descent; associated with the Bergense School. She was married to the Dutch painter, Mommie Schwarz. She and her husband were both murdered in the Holocaust.
Biography
Berg was born in Ratibor, which was then part of the German province of Silesia. Her father was a Liberal Jew and owned a cigar factory. In 1895, she began her studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Five years later, with the financial support of her parents, she continued at the Berlin University of the Arts,Profile @ the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie where she studied with Arthur Kampf. According to some sources, she also studied in Paris.
In 1905, she met Mommie Schwarz, who had recently returned from New York and had come to Berlin to study German Expressionism. They went to Paris together to have a look at the latest artistic trends there. The following year, they settled in Amsterdam and became part of the Modern Art movement. For many years, they travelled together, although they kept separate studios. In 1920 they were married and, four years later, she became a naturalized Dutch citizen.[http://www.schilderijen-site.nl/woordenboek/else-berg/ Brief biography] @ Schilderijen Site.
Despite financial difficulties, they continued to travel throughout Eastern Europe, Italy and France. They also had an extended stay on Mallorca, with Leo Gestel and his wife, where they took up Cubism. As the Nazis came to power, many of their friends and family left for England or the United States.
Initially, they felt safe in Amsterdam, but they refused to wear the "Yellow Badge" when it became mandatory and went into hiding in Baambrugge. They were apparently betrayed. In November 1942 they were arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where they were murdered shortly after their arrival.
Gallery
File:Else Berg A still life with flowers.jpg|Still-life with Flowers (1916–20)
File:Else Berg A mining district near Tilleur, Belgium.jpg|Mining District near Tilleur (c. 1927)
File:Else Berg - Zelfportret met penselen (Q28102789) - no frame.jpg|Self-portrait with Brushes (1929)
File:Else Berg Portrait of a farmer.jpg|Portrait of a Farmer (c. 1929)
File:Else Berg Jongen met speelgoeddieren.jpg|Child with Toy Animals (c. 1930)
File:Else berg - portrait of Mommie Schwarz 1936.jpg|Portrait of Mommie Schwarz (1936)
File:Else Berg A potter.jpg|A Potter (by 1942)
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Linda Horn, Else Berg en Mommie Schwarz, kunstenaarspaar in Amsterdam 1910-1942, Uitgeverij De Kunst, 2011 {{ISBN|94-911961-8-9}}
External links
{{commons category|Else Berg}}
- [http://www.artnet.com/artists/else-berg/past-auction-results ArtNet: More works by Berg.]
- [http://www.jhm.nl/actueel/tentoonstellingen/archief/else-berg-en-mommie-schwarz Else Berg and Mommie Schwarz] @ the Joods Historisch Museum
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Else}}
Category:19th-century Dutch women artists
Category:20th-century Dutch painters
Category:Dutch people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp
Category:Artists from the Province of Silesia
Category:Emigrants from the German Empire
Category:Immigrants to the Netherlands
Category:Jewish women painters
Category:Dutch Jews who died in the Holocaust
Category:German Jews who died in the Holocaust