Studio: international art (89.1925)

HAMBURG

M

HAMBURG.—Among the free arts we
are too apt to forget that which is
wrapped up, as it were, in our daily lives ;
an art which is a servant—indeed the ser-
vant of us all and the mother of all arts—
architecture, a a a a 0
And the applied art is called decorative
sculpture, the German master in this
branch being Richard Kuohl of Hamburg.
His is in the highest sense of the word
" applied art," never self-seeking, never
merely an " art for art's sake," but always
fulfilling a definite organic function. 0
What distinguishes his work and stamps
it with the mark of excellence, raising it
high above all other, is the able handiwork
manifest everywhere. Every piece is the
result of his own finished effort, every
model his own making out of the plain
material. Richard Kuohl's art stands by
itself, quite uninfluenced by any foreign
idealism, and nothing is further from his
achievements than eclecticism or reminis-

soffitsin the

cences of Mexico and insular art. 0 0 chilehaus, Hamburg

Examples of his work are to be found in by richard kuohl

nearly all the government buildings de-
signed by Baudirektor Fritz Schumacher And then m the Stadtpark there are his
of Hamburg, either in the facades or in the fountains of terra-cotta and stone, the
stairway ceilings or again in the drinking groups of merry children or playful animals
fountains outside. 0 0 0 0 a11 designed with a view to their proper

setting in the landscape. 000
In commercial houses and villas also
are to be found evidences of his plastic art,
with its definite standard and architectural
fitness ; the stoves and woodcarvings add a
note of distinction to many interesting
interiors. 00000
His latest efforts have been devoted to
the Chilehaus in Hamburg, a huge
residential building which has been newly
constructed under the direction of Fr.
Hoger, the architect. The plastic decora-
tion is the entire work of Kuohl and is
carried out in material similar to that of
which the building is constructed, while
special ceramics tone in wonderfully with
the general scheme of the architecture.
Fantastic balconies, arcades and portals in
potter's clay reveal an undreamed of mas-
tery in this art, for which Richard Kuohl's
hand and imagination is so eminently
suited. The plates given here depict the
soffits of an arcade in the inner courtyard
of the great Chilehaus above mentioned.

hamburgV'by richard kuohl KoNSTANTY GuTSCHOW.

293

soffit in the chilehaus