Aufbruch an der Akademie – Josef Hegenbarth und seine Meisterschülerin Traute Gruner

In the organizer's words:

The immediate post-war years were a time of artistic awakening for the draughtsman and illustrator Josef Hegenbarth.

After returning to Dresden from Böhmisch Kamnitz in 1945, the 60-year-old Hegenbarth was initially employed at the Academy of Fine Arts under the rectorate of Will Grohmann. He then moved to the Academy of Fine Arts and was one of the first professors when it resumed teaching on April 17, 1947. One of the students who experienced the first post-war semesters was Traute Gruner, who came from Stollberg in the Ore Mountains and now lives in Baden-Württemberg. Under her birth name Schäfer, she was the only woman to complete her master's degree under Josef Hegenbarth.

To mark the artist's 100th birthday in December 2024, the Josef Hegenbarth Archive is showing works by Traute Gruner and her mentor from their time together at the academy in a dialogical exhibition. Hegenbarth's works shed light on this short but intense period of his work, during which he not only practiced his teaching profession, but also became a sought-after artist throughout Germany. Traute Gruner's drawings - above all portraits and nudes, which the Josef Hegenbarth Archive received from the artist in 2018 as part of a generous donation - illustrate the inspiring role of the teacher, the student's mastery of drawing, but also the spirit of optimism of these years.

Early sheets and those created after her studies complement the presentation. Selected letters provide an insight into Traute Gruner's friendly relationship with the Hegenbarth couple, which continued for decades after she moved to West Germany in 1951. The exhibition is accompanied by a program of events aimed at visitors of all ages, including guided tours by individual arrangement as well as workshops for children and young people.