Marcus Behmer

Behmer was born in Weimar, son of the painter Hermann Behmer and grandson of Friedrich Behmer, Oberamtmann of Merzien (now part of Köthen in Saxony-Anhalt) and his wife Elise, youngest daughter of the poet Philippine Engelhard. His father's twin brother Rudolf Behmer (1831–1902) was known as a breeder of Merino sheep; their sister Louise was married to Heinrich von Nathusius (1824–1890). Marcus' brother Joachim Behmer was also an artist.

Marcus Behmer's grave in Friedhof Heerstraße, Berlin-Westend

Behmer, in a letter, put his artistic beginnings in about 1896. His first major success came with his illustrations for Wilde's Salome for Insel Verlag in 1903. Behmer's early works show the strong influence of the illustrative art of Aubrey Beardsley. This initial dependence in his Salome has worked significantly against him in the critical evaluation of his work, as numerous art historians, on the basis of it, have dismissed him as no more than a Beardsley imitator, a critique which diminishes in relevance as his work develops: he soon moved past this influence and developed his own artistic language parallel to the rise of Expressionism and the new currents of the Wiener Werkstätte.

On 1 October 1903, Behmer joined the army. He was made a corporal on 10 June 1904 and promoted on 22 September 1907 to sergeant. From 1914 he served in World War I in Flanders and in Poland. In the summer of 1917 he fell seriously ill "after an operation in the field" and spent six weeks in the field hospital at Jarny in north-eastern France. During his time in the army, he produced many so-called "comrades' portraits" , usually finely crafted miniature profile views of young soldiers.

In 1898 Behmer made the acquaintance of Karl Walser, also an admirer of Aubrey Beardsley, with whom he remained friends for the rest of his life. From 1902 Behmer created book illustrations, designed initials and texts and was responsible for carefully planned book productions. He worked for the Cranach Press of Harry Graf Kessler, in particular making many contributions to the monthly magazine Die Insel (The Island ) for Insel Verlag. For the same publisher he also designed an internationally recognised work, the series of illustrations for Philipp Otto Runge's Von dem Fischer un syner Fru ("The Fisherman and His Wife"), besides the 1903 illustrations to Wilde's Salome, as above. Behmer also worked for other publishers, for example the Paul Cassirer Verlag, where one of his major works was produced, that being the series of 40 etchings he created in 1912 for an edition of Voltaire's Zadig. Like many artists of the Buchkunstbewegung, Behmer ran into financial difficulties in the 1920s, but stayed committed to the (in his words) "small format" , instead of striving for a gallery-based artistic career as did others such as Alfred Kubin (to whom Behmer compared himself in later years).

Behmer was close friends with, among others, the family of the writer Ernst Hardt, with the painter Alexander Olbricht and also with the sculptor and painter Dorothea Werner (born Leiding) and her husband.

From 1903 he was a member in Berlin of the WhK (Wissenschaftlich-humanitäre Komitee), the first homosexual movement in the world. Until recently it was little known that Behmer was sentenced in December 1936 by a court in Konstanz on account of his homosexuality to 19 months' imprisonment, which he spent in Stockach, Konstanz and Freiburg. At times he was given the opportunity to work as an artist in prison. The works produced in this period are mostly calligraphically designed panels of Greek text (prayers and Bible quotations), as well as drawings full of bitterness and irony.

From 1943 Behmer lived at the family home of Donata Helmrich, the daughter of Ernst Hardt, in Berlin-Charlottenburg. After he was bombed out in Berlin in November 1944, losing almost all of his possessions, including many hundreds of drawings, graphics and printing plates, he went to live at Groẞ Nuhnen, the country estate of the Werner family near Frankfurt an der Oder. The rest of his life was spent in poverty in West Berlin, where Dorothea Werner took care of him in 1958 until his death.

Behmer died in Berlin three weeks before his 79th birthday, on 12 September 1958. He was buried in the Heerstraße Cemetery in the present district of Berlin-Westend.[2]

The Senate of Berlin ordered in 1965 that Behmer's grave (plot 8-C-54) should be dedicated as an Ehrengrab ("grave of honour") of the Land Berlin. The original dedication expired in 2011, but the Senate decided in 2018 to renew it, with the usual time period of 20 years.[3]

Renowned museums and collections such as the graphics collection of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, the Klingspor Museum for calligraphy and typography in Offenbach and the Sternweiler collection in Berlin today house works by Behmer. A critical appraisal of his work is only now being undertaken and his art-historical importance realized.

• Max Deri: Marcus Behmer – Berlin. In: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, Bd. 30, April 1912 – September 1912, pp. 415–423 (online version)
• Reichshandbuch der deutschen Gesellschaft – Das Handbuch der Persönlichkeiten in Wort und Bild. Erster Band, Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930, Neuausgabe München o. J., Saur, ISBN 3598306644
• Birnbaum, Martin, Marcus Behmer. New York 1912
• Bucheinbände von Marcus Behmer. In: Stammtischblätter der Maximilian-Gesellschaft, Jg. 1927, pp. 53–87
• Vollmer, Künstlerlexikon, Vol. I, p. 155f.
• Roditi, Edouard, Marcus Behmer, a Master of Art Nouveau. In: Arts in Society, 7, 1970, pp. 268–275
• Halbey, Hans Adolf, Marcus Behmer als Illustrator./Handeinbände von Frieda Thiersch zu Drucken der Bremer Presse. Neu-Isenburg 1970 (with incomplete bibliography of works illustrated by Behmer)
• Hans Adolf Halbey, Richard von Sichowsky: Marcus Behmer in seinen Briefen als Buchgestalter, Illustrator und Schriftzeichner. Von der Typographie zum West-östlichen Divan, den Radierungen zur Ilsebill, den Holzschnitten zum Petronius und der Hebräischen Schrift. Verlag Hans Christians, Hamburg 1974
• MARCUS BEHMER: Exhibition catalogue and attempt at a catalogue raisonné. With texts by Marcus Behmer, Benno Meyer-Wehlack and others. Edited by Marcus Haucke. Berlin, Galerie im Antiquariat Haucke, 12 September 2000 to 14 February 2001. Octavo, with c. 95 illustrations, 80 pages. Card covers with illustration of bookbinder's stamp and portrait of MB. Content: Biographical outline, texts by Marcus Behmer (Alexander Olbricht, Insel-Baedecker, poems etc.), Blake, Goethe, Haucke, Graf Kessler, Benno Meyer-Wehlack. With a list of the writings (A1-A56 = 56 entries), of the illustrated books and original graphic entries in periodicals and books (C1-88 = 88 entries), of the portfolios (D89-D100 = 12 entries), of the New Year's greetings (E181-E217 = 37 entries), numerous drawings, the erotic or "orgiastic" works (in summary), or "Buchschmutz" ("book dirt"), a selection of bookplates plus a list of exhibitions and a bibliography. In a small appendix are brief biographical sketches of Hermann Behmer (Marcus Behmer's father), Alexander Olbricht and Benno Meyer-Wehlack (friends). Haucke is the owner of Behmer's copyrights and is working on the list of the printed graphics and book decoration.
• Peter Christian Hall: Delphine in Offenbach. Marcus Behmer. Meister der kleinen Formate, Klingspor Museum, Offenbach am Main 2018 and the article "Fromm und schwul" in chrismon, August 2018, p. 42
• Renate Müller Krumbach: Marcus Behmer, Illustrator, Buchkünstler, Briefschreiber In: Zeitschrift der Schweizerischen Bibliophilen-Gesellschaft, Bd. 47, 2004, pp. 66–78
• Renate Müller-Krumbach: Marcus Behmer (1879-1958). Ouvre gravé – eigenhändiges Werkverzeichnis. In: Gesellschaft der Bibliophilen (ed.): Imprimatur: ein Jahrbuch für Bücherfreunde. N.F. 19. Harrassowitz, 2005, ISSN 0073-5620, pp. 289–307

• Literature from and about Marcus Behmer in the catalogue of the German National Library
• Spiegel.de: Der letzte Bohemien in Berlin by Ingeborg Wiensowski, 29 July 2008: article about an exhibition of Behmer's works in Berlin
• List of the contents of Behmer's estate in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

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