“My paintings materialize in contact with nature; they are my prayers to God the Almighty.”

-Hans Grohs

Hans Friedrich Grohs was born in 1892 in the coastal town Pahlen, within an area of northern Germany called Dithmarchen which faces the North Sea. Groh’s father came from a family of fishermen and whalers while his mother came from a family of stained-glass artists, and both of his parents encouraged Grohs to pursue art. The coastal scene of his hometown and the artistic talents of Grohs’ family influenced him at a young age, with many of his works reflecting the dramatic changing of the weather along the North Sea. Grohs also drew inspiration from Nordic myths to represent his Viking heritage; he was inspired by these people who believed that the land and landscape were embedded with power. This background combined with Grohs’ Lutheran faith laid the foundation for Grohs to see God within nature and how in essence nature was God. After having an art apprenticeship at 16, Grohs continued his art education at the German college Universität Königsberg, whose program was known for landscape and genre work. It was during this time that Grohs produced oil-paintings and woodblock prints, both distinguished by their thick, dark lines.

At the beginning of World War I, Grohs was drafted into the army, but due to poor health he was taken from the front lines and sent to Burges, Belgium, to work as a librarian. Despite the ongoing war, Grohs was able to study the Flemish masters while in Belgium. Grohs took inspiration from the fifteenth-century painter Hans Memling, an old master known for his meditative religious portraits and sacred biblical scenes. When Grohs returned to Germany, he studied at the Weimer Academy from 1915 to 1918 under the well-known German American Expressionist Lyonel Feininger. At the end of World War I, Grohs turned to religious subjects with an emphasis on emotion and abstraction, but his works also reflects the turmoil in Germany the end of the Great War. Unemployment, famine, and inflation was rampant, and Death became a common figure in Grohs’ woodblock prints. His works were dark, both in color and theme, and harkened back to medieval fatalism with Death being characterized in the traditional northern European style as a skinny figure with a grinning skull. Through this, Groh became known as the “Great Expressionist from the North” and was exhibited alongside other well-known Expressionists, such as Edvard Munch who is best known for his painting “The Scream.”

In 1934, Grohs became a teacher at the Northland Art Academy in Bremen, Germany, where he was allowed to explore and showcase his skill as a craftsman. He produced designs for stained-glass windows, textiles, clothing, and sculptures while still creating his traditional oil-paintings and woodblock prints. He even produced frescos for Churches, a technique he learned from spending time studying in Italy in the mid-1920s. This was an experience that led Grohs to begin leaning away from Expressionism and start to focus more on the creation of the line. 1937, the Nazi regime declared Grohs to be a “degenerate” artist. The Nazis burned and destroyed most of his work. The Third Reich forbade Grohs from producing, exhibiting, or selling any works. This was largely due to Grohs’ reputation as being a religious artist. In response, Grohs began to produce poetry and paintings under the pseudonym “H. Gross Palhen” and continued to teach at the Academy in Bremen. In 1943, Grohs was drafted into World War II and sent to the Russian front. He only served a short time before being released to due to poor health; he returned to Bremen around the time of the Allied bombing in 1945- which he luckily survived. Grohs’ experiences during this period left him feeling lost, and he even contemplated suicide. This led to Grohs abandoning his career as an artist and he barely held onto his Lutheran faith.

To view more pieces by Hans Grohs, view the Muscarelle's collection by searching "Hans Grohs"

Or visit the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

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