Hans Otto Orlowski

HANS OTTO ORLOWSKI (Germany, 1894-1967).
Untitled.
Oil on panel.
Signed in the upper left corner. Signed on the back.
Measurements: 100 x 70 cm.
Hans Otto Orlowski was a German painter and engraver, outstanding representative of the expressionist realism and of the artistic currents that, in the first half of the XX century, explored the relation between the human being and the devastation caused by the war and the social changes in Germany. From a young age he showed artistic inclinations, which led him to study at the Berlin School of Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbeschule Berlin). His training took place in an atmosphere of intense aesthetic search, marked by the influence of German expressionism and the artistic renewal of the interwar period.

During the First World War, Orlowski was called to the front, an experience that would profoundly mark his vision of the world and his work. Like many artists of his generation, such as Otto Dix and George Grosz, he witnessed firsthand the violence, suffering and destruction of the conflict, themes that would later become central to his art.

After the war, Orlowski became integrated into the artistic environment of the Weimar Republic, actively participating in exhibitions and artists' associations. His work of the 1920s is characterized by a strong critical and social charge: he portrayed urban scenes, workers, ruins and the daily life of the post-war period with a hard but deeply human look. In his technique, he combined precise drawing with a solid compositional structure, influenced by both Expressionism and New Realism (Neue Sachlichkeit).

With the rise of Nazism in 1933, Orlowski was labeled a "degenerate" artist (Entartete Kunst), and some of his work was removed from museums. Despite this, he continued to work discreetly, dedicating himself also to teaching and engraving, seeking to maintain an independent artistic position in the face of censorship and the impositions of the regime.

After World War II, Orlowski settled in Berlin, where he resumed his artistic and teaching activity. During this period he was interested in the moral and material reconstruction of Germany, addressing in his engravings and paintings the themes of devastation, hope and human resilience.