Anita Ree ( * 1885 † 1933 )

Artist Anita Clara Rée

Discover the impressive art of Anita Rée – a remarkable artist of the German avant-garde! Her expressive portraits, stylized landscapes, and works of New Objectivity testify to extraordinary talent and deep emotional power. Bring the masterpieces of Anita Ree into your living room as a high-quality art print, stylishly framed canvas, modern poster, or artfully hand-painted painting.

Anita Rée was a German painter of the avant-garde who achieved her artistic breakthrough during the Weimar Republic era. Born in Hamburg in 1885, she developed an early passion for painting.

Starting in 1905, she took lessons with the Hamburg artist Arthur Siebelist, as women at that time were not allowed to undertake regular academic training in the Hanseatic city. However, Rée doubted her talent and sought advice from Max Liebermann in Berlin in 1906. He recognized her talent and encouraged her to continue her education. She pursued her studies with Siebelist until 1910, developing a distinctive style influenced by Impressionist and Post-Impressionist elements.

After World War I, Rée became a recognized avant-garde artist and co-founded the Hamburg Secession in 1919. Her portrayals of portraits, still lifes, and expressive landscapes received considerable attention. In 1922, she moved to the Italian Amalfi Coast, where she engaged deeply with Renaissance painting. During this period, her art shifted towards a clearer, more planar representation, influenced by New Objectivity. In 1926, she returned to Hamburg and actively supported female artists by co-founding GEDOK—an association for promoting female artists.

Between 1929 and 1931, Rée created several large-scale murals for newly built schools in Hamburg, planned by architect Fritz Schumacher. Her work was highly praised and demonstrated her stylistic development. Despite her growing success, she increasingly faced antisemitic hostility. Although she did not consider herself Jewish, as her father came from a converted Venetian-Sephardic family, she was defamed as a “Jew” by the NSDAP in 1930.

In 1932, she retreated to Sylt, feeling disappointed and ostracized, attempting to start anew artistically. However, the political developments and increasing exclusion from the art world made her situation seem increasingly hopeless. In 1933, she was expelled from the Hamburg Artists' Association and branded as “alien to the art.” The isolation, combined with personal disappointments, led her to suicide in December of that year.

Today, Anita Rée is celebrated as one of the most significant German artists of the Weimar Republic. Her works, which were long forgotten, are now widely recognized and exhibited in major museums. Her artistic legacy represents the diversity and innovative spirit of the avant-garde, as well as the tragic destruction of a promising talent due to the political conditions of the time.