Selma Des Coudres

Selma Des Coudres (born Selma Plawneek (Latvian: Zelma Pļavniece); 2 January 1883, Riga - 4 March 1956, Fürstenfeldbruck) was a Latvian-born German painter. Her style mixes elements of Art Nouveau, Expressionism and Japonism.

Self-portrait (Private collection; used by permission. Date unknown)

Biography

Her father was a wood and lumber wholesaler. He died in 1891, shortly after a disastrous fire destroyed all his possessions. Her mother had received drawing lessons as a girl, and encouraged Selma in her plans to become an artist.[1]

She enrolled at the private painting school operated by the Baltic German painter, Elise Jung-Stilling. In 1903, the Imperial Academy of Arts awarded her a diploma that enabled her to become a teacher in a middle school for girls.[1] While teaching, she also took private lessons from Janis Rozentāls and studied landscape painting with Vilhelms Purvītis.

View of the Isar River (Private collection, used by permission)

Her first work was as an illustrator; providing drawings in the Art Nouveau style for Kiefern im Schnee (Pines in the Snow), a collection of poetry and fairy tales. From 1908 to 1912, she regularly provided illustrations for the Jahrbuch für bildende Kunst in den Ostseeprovinzen. She also participated in several exhibits at the Rigaer Kunstverein and the new Latvian National Museum of Art.[1] The museums Director, Wilhelm Neumann, purchased several of her linocuts for its collection.[2]

In 1909 she received a scholarship from the City of Riga: established by Georg Wilhelm Timm to help young artists. The money enabled her to study in Munich with Max Doerner and in Dachau with Adolf Hölzel. In 1910, she went to Chiemsee for lessons with Julius Exter.[3] Back in Munich, she made lifelong friends with Joachim Ringelnatz, who called her a "very gifted, poor painter".[1] His autobiography was dedicated to her.

Her husband, Adolf, Sleeping (Private collection, used by permission)

Until 1914, she moved between Riga and Munich. During the war, she travelled extensively, giving exhibitions. Finally, in 1919, she decided to settle in Fürstenfeldbruck, which had been an artists' colony since 1900. It was there she met the painter, Adolf Des Coudres, and they were married in 1921. They made a very notable pair, as she was twenty years younger than him and much taller.[1] The marriage was short, however, as he died late in 1924.

Not long after his death, she and other local artists created the Kunstverein Fürstenfeldbruck. For a time, she served on the Board of Directors. Having lost most of her wealth due to the raging hyperinflation, she settled in a small cottage nearby.[3] At that time, she began to concentrate on portraits and floral still-lifes; catering to provincial tastes in order to make a living.[1]

She died in 1956 and is buried next to her husband at the old cemetery in Emmering.

References
  1. Eva von Seckendorff: "Selma Des Coudres, geb. Plawneek – Eine Malerin zwischen Riga und Fürstenfeldbruck". In: Angelika Mundorff, Eva von Seckendorff (Eds.): Selma und Adolf Des Coudres. Ein ungleiches Künstlerpaar. Exhibition catalog, Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, 2014 ISBN 978-3-00-046074-6.
  2. Rigaische Zeitung #65, 20 March 1909
  3. Letter: Selma Des Coudres to Paul Campe, 5 January 1951. Herder-Institut Marburg, Dokumentensammlung DSHI 100 Campe 18a Bl. 291

Further reading
  • Joachim Ringelnatz: Mein Leben bis zum Kriege, Severus Verlag, 2013 ISBN 978-3-86347-515-4
  • Exhibition catalog, Stadtsparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck: Maler in Bruck. Sechs Künstlerinnen aus zwei Generationen: Johanna Oppenheimer, Selma Des Coudres, Katharina von Martens, Lily Koebner-Linke, Hildegard Mössel, Elisabeth Bunge.
  • Walter Well: Maler im Fürstenfeldbrucker Land. Ein Erinnerungsbuch, Hirmer Verlag, 1988 ISBN 978-3-7774-4970-8
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