Max
Körner

* September 18, 1887 Reutlingen – † June 21, 1963 Nuremberg. ∞ II) Widow Elisabeth Bauer, née Wibel († 1975), one son. Apprenticeship as a wood sculptor with her father in Nürtingen. 1906-11 Attended the interior design class at the Stuttgart School of Applied Arts under Fritz Lang, Bernhard Pankok and Johann Vincenz Cissarz, under whose collaborator he worked as an interior designer and in various areas of arts and crafts. Study trips to Tyrol, Italy, Switzerland in 1908, France in 1913, Holland in 1924. From 1913-21 teacher in the graphic and book trade class at the Weissenhof School of Applied Arts in Stuttgart, in between four years on the Western Front during the First World War. From 1921 professor of writing and advertising art, later full professor of commercial graphics at the Nuremberg School of Applied Arts, from 1928 State School of Applied Arts, from 1940 AdBK. A large part of his life's work was destroyed in the fire at the academy in 1943. 1945-48 acting head of the AdBK Nuremberg (Ellingen). Retired from 1952; chairman of the BDG until 1956. Editor of the Karl Ulrich & Co publishing house, publisher of various specialist works and the magazine "Der Holz- und Steinbildhauer". Körner was one of the most versatile German artists, his work included designs for interior architecture, wall designs, tombs, clocks, toys, chess pieces, costumes, medals, but his main area was commercial graphics. In 1932 he lived at Burgstrasse 15, in 1954 Günthersbühler Strasse 63. 1953 Cultural Prize of the City of Nuremberg, 1958 Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class; 1958 Honorary member of the Cultural Advisory Board of the City of Nuremberg. Member of the Nuremberg Secession and the Art Association, in the BDG, 1956 member of the artist group "Der Kreis". MuS: COBURG; GS der Veste Coburg. NUREMBERG, MStN: Paintings; watercolors, drawings, prints. Lit.: Thieme-Becker; Vollmer; Rösermüller, 1928; Dressler, 1930; AdBK, 1933; Kurt Pilz, in: Fränkische Heimat, October 14th year 1935; Artists' Association, 1954; Mende, Dürer medals; Erlanger/Fischer, 2000; Stadtlexikon 2000; Schmidt, 2005. Exhibitions: 1922/2; 1924/2; 1928/7; 1929/2; 1930/1, –/3; 1931/2; 1933/3; 1934/1, –/3; 1935/1; 1936/1; 1940/2; 1941/6, 14, 15; 1941/8 EA with 144 exhibits; 1941/14; 1942/1, –/3; 1944/2; 1946/1, –/2, –/3; 1947/1; 1952/1; 1954/4; 1955/1, –/10; 1956/1, –/5, –/6; 1957/12; 1958/11, –/12, –/16; 1959/13, –/16; 1959/30 EA; 1963/7; 1969/14; 1971/8 No. 151; 1979/6; 1993/7; 2002/5. (quoted from the Nuremberg Artists' Lexicon, edited by Manfred H. Grieb) __________________________ Körner was able to take part in every "North Bavarian Art Exhibition" between 1933 and 1936, as well as in the "First International Crafts Exhibition" in Berlin in 1938. In 1941, a large solo exhibition was dedicated to him in Nuremberg. (...) His diverse activities for the Nazi regime culminated in 1944 in his inclusion in the so-called list of "God-gifted" artists exempted from military service compiled by Adolf Hitler, who thus received special recognition. (...) Quoted from: Gray Zones, Nuremberg Artists in National Socialism, Edited by Andrea Dippel, Nuremberg 2022, pp. 232 - 241 __________________________ "Kö", as he was abbreviated, had founded his own graphic school in Nuremberg during the Weimar Republic - which was also the feeling of his students, who populated the self-ironically named "Kö Garden". Körner's most prominent student was Richard Lindner, the only Nuremberg artist of the 20th century whose works are represented in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (...) Despite all the critical assessment of Körner's role in National Socialism, it must first be noted: Körner was not a National Socialist. He was not a party member and was not active in any other National Socialist organizations. (...) Max Körner in National Socialism: (...) His work continued to include the design of company logos, coats of arms and lettering, but Körner also now decorated walls and ceilings with paintings and mosaics. (...) For example, he was commissioned to decorate the SS barracks in Nuremberg, for which he provided mosaics with a national eagle and swastika, as well as wall paintings for the "Reich Training Castle" of the German Labor Front (DAF) in Erwitte. (...) In the years after 1933, Körner experienced a successful period under the ideological auspices of the time. He had completely adapted to the times, even if he continued to try to stay away from politics and political business. (...) Quoted from: Alexander Schmidt: A "black sheep"? - The graphic artist Max Körner and his role in National Socialism, in: Geartete Kunst. The Nuremberg Academy in National Socialism. Publisher: Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg, 2012, pp. 116 - 136