Willi Baumeister - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Today, Willi Baumeister’s work still attracts a lot of attention, particularly in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. In contrast to the “French classics” of Modernism, or the important American artists of the second half of the twentieth century, Baumeister receives only a scant amount of attention in the Anglo-Saxon world. The quality of his work is undisputed.

It is clear that while working in “domestic emigration” during the Nazi dictatorship, he had no influence on the vital artistic environment. After 1945 Willi Baumeister played an important role in the development of German and European art. Among the German painters who remained in the country despite the persecution by the National Socialists from 1933 to 1945, only a few succeeded in achieving such pioneering strides toward new contents and forms. Following World War II, he became a spokesman in the debate on Modernism. Regarded as an advocate of “abstract” painting, he was highly regarded by some, while strongly condemned by others.

An important collection of Willi Baumeister’s works is preserved in the Willi Baumeister Archive, which is part of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, and in the Sammlung Domnick (Domnick Collection) in Nürtingen.