Josef Goller (25 January 1868 in Dachau – 29 May 1947 in Obermenzing) was a German designer, most notably of stained glass.[ Josef Ludwig Fischer: Handbuch der Glasmalerei für Forscher, Sammler und Kunstfreunde, wie für Künstler, Architekten und Glasmaler. K. W. Hiersemann, Leipzig, 1914 (three works by Goller)]
Life
Goller apprenticed at Franz Mayer & Co. and attended the School of Applied Arts in
Munich. After a first employment in
Zittau, in 1890 he moved to
Dresden, where he joined the well-known stained glass company of Bruno Urban; he later became Urban's partner.
[ Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration. Vol. 1. Verlagsanstalt Alexander Koch, Darmstadt, October 1897–March 1898, p. 116] From 1906 Goller taught at the School of Applied Arts in Dresden, now the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, from about 1909 as a professor.
[Ortsverein Loschwitz-Wachwitz e. V., Ortsverein Pillnitz e.V. (Ed.): Künstler am Dresdner Elbhang. Vol. 1, Dresden, Elbhang-Kurier-Verlag, 1999, p. 53] Among his students were
Otto Griebel (stained glass) and Friedrich Kurt Fiedler (graphics). In 1928 Goller returned to Munich.
Artwork
He created stained glass for town halls in
Nuremberg, Dresden, and
Chemnitz and for many churches and schools in
Saxony and the synagogue of Görlitz, but also for the windows of the neo-Baroque
Kaiserpalast, Dresden's most impressive private building at that time, the
Dresden Zoo and the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof.
[Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart: Unter Mitwirkung von etwa 400 Fachgelehrten. Ed.: Ulrich Thieme, Hans Vollmer, Felix Becker. Seemann Leipzig, Vol. 14, 1921, p. 345-346] Moreover, Goller designed the interior of important national and international exhibitions in Dresden,
[ German Art Exhibition, Dresden 1899][ Dresden Art Exhibition 1912] as well as the colouring of the foyer in the
Semperoper.
[Heinrich Magirius: Gottfried Sempers zweites Dresdner Hoftheater. Verlag H. Böhlau, 1985]
Goller became known for his works in Art Nouveau style, but he remained open to new influences. He was a member of Die Elbier, a post-secessionist movement led by Gotthardt Kuehl which reflected impressionism and en plein air.[Paul Schumann: Article on Die Elbier] With time Goller became a supporter of form follows function and joined the Deutscher Werkbund.[ Member list of Deutscher Werkbund, 1 May 1913] He also created noted posters [ Karl Hoffacker: Kunstgewerbeblatt. E.A. Seemann, Leipzig, 1902] and designed books. He had friendly relations with Peter Behrens and Johann Vincenz Cissarz.
Notes
External links
Literature
