COMMENTS TO MY PAGE "ART POSTCARDS WITH A RAILWAY MOTIVE"

Heinz Geilfus

Heinz Geilfus (1890-1956) was a German commercial artist, cartoonist and hunting painter. Johannes Geilfus was born in Gießen. He completed a commercial apprenticeship and trained as a technical draftsman. From 1911 he lived in Saarbrücken, where he worked with various metalsmith workshops.  In the Saarbrücken telephone directory for 1912 he is listed for the first time as a "painter". From 1914 to 1920, Geilfus lived in Berlin, where he pursued "artistic studies". It is uncertain whether he also completed his military service during the First World War. In February 1920, Geilfus and his wife moved to Bad Nauheim, Hessen, where he lived and worked for 36 years as a draftsman, painter and commercial artist.  He worked as a commercial artist for the spa establishments and various companies, and from 1925 also as an illustrator for various German publishers.
From 1925, Geilfus was a member of Bad Nauheimer Jagdklub (the Bad Nauheim hunting club). This had a formative effect on him and his artistic work. His works from 1931 to the 1950s contain hunting scenes embedded in flora and fauna, many of them humorously depicted. He also became known for his advertising caricatures for Wagner Pflanzenbutter (on the postcard here), Blendax toothpaste, Rama margarine and the Lauterbacher Strolch, a regional Camembert. Geilfus also created city and architectural views, including motifs from the old town of Frankfurt am Main. The old town of Giessen, which was destroyed in the war, was also close to his heart. In 1943, Geilfus was one of the co-founders of Oberhessischen Künstlerbunde (the Upper Hessian Artists' Association). Heinz Geilfus died  in his long-time home of Bad Nauheim.

January 9th 2025

 

 
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