Heinrich Harder

Heinrich Harder ( born June 2, 1858 in Putzar, Vorpommern, † February 5, 1935 in Berlin) was a German painter of landscapes and prehistoric animals.

Life and work

The birth of Heinrich Harder in 1858 entered in the birth register of the church book in Putzar. Thus, it is not as predominantly reported in the literature, born in Mecklenburg, Friedland. The son of Charles Harder, a " Count's farmer " on the estate Putzar, spent the first years of his childhood in Putzar, later attended in Berlin the Higher School for Boys Dr. axis and then the Dorotheenstädtische secondary school.

Between 1874 and 1876 he attended the Royal School of Art in Berlin, whose director Martin Gropius was, and then went to the practical training in the studio of Paul Gropius. From April 1890 to 1892 he studied with Eugen Bracht at the Royal College of academic fine arts painting and worked primarily as a landscape painter. 1900 produced Harder to 60 lithographs for the card series Animals of the Hamburg cocoa and chocolate manufacturer Theodor Reichardt of the prehistoric world, where dinosaurs, trilobites, ammonites and prehistoric mammals are shown. The writer William Bölsche, with whom he worked since 1898, described the animals on the back of the cards. 1906 published Bölsche article about the planet Earth in the magazine The gazebo, which were illustrated by Harder. Also on Bolsche works animal book (1908 ) and animal migrations in the prehistoric world (1914 ) Harder was involved as a draftsman. He returned in 1910 on behalf of the Cologne Chocolate producer Ludwig Stollwerck Stollwerck designs for collecting images, including for the Stollwerck Scrapbook no. 11 In addition, Harder taught from 1906 to 1923, from 1913 as a professor of art, at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts.

As in 1913, the Aquarium of the Berlin Zoo was opened, Harder decorated the facade with illustrations of dinosaurs, Archelon ( an extinct giant sea turtle), Ammonites, prehistoric amphibians and a tank of fish. During the reconstruction of the destroyed aquarium after the Second World War Harders could be restored badly damaged mosaic images for lack of money not initially. 1977 were rediscovered 14 original designs that served as a template for the restoration of the murals in 1978. To Harders known works is the Iguanodon sculpture in front of the entrance of the aquarium on the Zooseite. Harder died in 1935 at the age of 76 years. His final resting place is located in the cemetery Steglitz.