Kögler, Kaspar

Painter, illustrator, writer

Born: 12.02.1838 in Molsberg (Westerwald)

died: 01.04.1923 in Wiesbaden

Kaspar Kögler came from a farming family and received his first training from the painter Leonhard Diefenbach (1814 - 1875) at the Hadamar trade school, after his talent for drawing had already been noticed at elementary school. Encouraged by Counts Wilderich (1799 - 1862) and Eduard von Walderdorff (1801 - 1873), he studied at the Munich Academy from 1857 under Moritz von Schwind (1804 - 1871) and the portrait painter Josef Bernhardt (1805 - 1885). He left Munich in 1861 and went on tour as a church painter. In 1867, he finally settled in Wiesbaden and set up his studio and a painting and drawing school in the house at Schützenhofstraße 3, built in 1869. The house was built by the Wiesbaden architect Wilhelm Bogler

In 1876, Kögler married Ida (1853 - 1931, née Bogler), Wilhelm Bogler's cousin, as can be seen from the marriage certificate in the Wiesbaden city archives. An addendum to the marriage certificate also shows that the artist was only authorized to use the surname "Kögler" in November 1900.

In addition to his work as a teacher, Kögler provided illustrations for literary works as well as numerous picture and text contributions for popular magazines such as "Fliegenden Blätter" and "Die Gartenlaube". He also created commercial graphics such as wine labels and letterheads. Through Bogler, he was commissioned to paint the large ballroom of the Casino-Gesellschaft building in Wiesbaden, which was erected between 1872 and 1874, and to design the living and function rooms of the villa built by Bogler around 1869 for the industrialist Julius (von) Knoop (1822-1893) on the Bierstadt hillside. While the Villa Knoop no longer exists, parts of the painting of the Casino Hall have been preserved under the "Wilhelmine" new version of 1898.

Kögler's most successful period was the two decades around the turn of the century. In 1890, he was commissioned by the city to artistically design the walls of the wine cellar (1890) and the Ratsstübchen (1891) in the new town hall. The witty scenes relating to Wiesbaden and its citizens with accompanying humorous texts made Kögler extremely popular, but are no longer preserved on site. In 1894, he was entrusted with the execution of the ceiling paintings in the auditorium of the "Königliches Theater" (Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden) according to his own ideas. Destroyed at the end of the Second World War, they were recreated in 1977/78 by Wolfgang Lenz (*1925) based on old designs. However, the ceiling painting of the theater foyer, painted by Kögler in 1902 in oil on canvas, which shows the "happiness and elevation of mankind through art descending from heaven to earth", has been preserved. Impressed by this work, Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class. In connection with the construction of the new Kurhaus in 1907, Kögler was commissioned to create two supraports for the "Beer Hall" in the north wing, which no longer exists.

Kögler, a painter committed to tradition whose portraits were highly valued for their realistic depiction, also received numerous commissions from private individuals. He was highly regarded as a friend and artist in the so-called "Biebrich Circle", which included members of the industrialist families Kalle, Albert and Dyckerhoff. They met in the Dyckerhoff bowling alley in the garden of Gustav Wilhelm Dyckerhoff's house (Am Schlosspark 35), which Kögler decorated with several paintings.

Involved in numerous committees, Kögler was also a member of the Nassauischer Kunstverein e.V. for forty years (1876 - 1916), of which he was a member of the board from 1876. In 1913, on his 75th birthday, the association honored him with the annual portfolio "Kaspar Kögler in Wort und Bild". Having lived in the house at Adolfsallee 7 since 1891, on the façade of which a memorial plaque has commemorated him since 1938, Kögler suffered greatly in old age from the hardships of the post-war period. He died in April 1923 and was buried in the North Cemetery. In August of the same year, the Nassauischer Kunstverein organized a memorial exhibition of his works.

Today, the extensive oeuvre (portraits, genre paintings, still lifes, landscapes, etc.), most of which is privately owned, is only accessible to a limited extent. Kögler's written estate is in the Wiesbaden Main State Archive, and a sketchbook and a portfolio of drawings are in the Wiesbaden City Archive. The Wiesbaden Museum owns 16 of Kögler's paintings, including three self-portraits and pictures of the artist's family, and the City Museum also owns paintings as well as the original desigWiesbaden, which was erected between 1872 and 1874, and to design the living and function rooms of the villa built by Bogler around 1869 for the industrialist Julius (von) Knoop (1822-1893) on the Bierstadt hillside. While the Villa Knoop no longer exists, parts of the painting of the Casino Hall have been preserved under the "Wilhelmine" new version of 1898.

Kögler's most successful period was the two decades around the turn of the century. In 1890, he was commissioned by the city to artistically design the walls of the wine cellar (1890) and the Ratsstübchen (1891) in the new town hall. The witty scenes relating to Wiesbaden and its citizens with accompanying humorous texts made Kögler extremely popular, but are no longer preserved on site. In 1894, he was entrusted with the execution of the ceiling paintings in the auditorium of the "Königliches Theater" (Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden) according to his own ideas. Destroyed at the end of the Second World War, they were recreated in 1977/78 by Wolfgang Lenz (*1925) based on old designs. However, the ceiling painting of the theater foyer, painted by Kögler in 1902 in oil on canvas, which shows the "happiness and elevation of mankind through art descending from heaven to earth", has been preserved. Impressed by this work, Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class. In connection with the construction of the new Kurhaus in 1907, Kögler was commissioned to create two supraports for the "Beer Hall" in the north wing, which no longer exists.

Kögler, a painter committed to tradition whose portraits were highly valued for their realistic depiction, also received numerous commissions from private individuals. He was highly regarded as a friend and artist in the so-called "Biebrich Circle", which included members of the industrialist families Kalle, Albert and Dyckerhoff. They met in the Dyckerhoff bowling alley in the garden of Gustav Wilhelm Dyckerhoff's house (Am Schlosspark 35), which Kögler decorated with several paintings.

Involved in numerous committees, Kögler was also a member of the Nassauischer Kunstverein e.V. for forty years (1876 - 1916), of which he was a member of the board from 1876. In 1913, on his 75th birthday, the association honored him with the annual portfolio "Kaspar Kögler in Wort und Bild". Having lived in the house at Adolfsallee 7 since 1891, on the façade of which a memorial plaque has commemorated him since 1938, Kögler suffered greatly in old age from the hardships of the post-war period. He died in April 1923 and was buried in the North Cemetery. In August of the same year, the Nassauischer Kunstverein organized a memorial exhibition of his works.

Today, the extensive oeuvre (portraits, genre paintings, still lifes, landscapes, etc.), most of which is privately owned, is only accessible to a limited extent. Kögler's written estate is in the Wiesbaden Main State Archive, and a sketchbook and a portfolio of drawings are in the Wiesbaden City Archive. The Wiesbaden Museum owns 16 of Kögler's paintings, including three self-portraits and pictures of the artist's family, and the City Museum also owns paintings as well as the original designs for the Ratskeller. The "Köglerweg", a forest path between Idsteiner Straße and Rabengrund, has been named after the artist since 1908 and the "Kaspar-Kögler-Platz" in Adolfsallee since 2004.