Tucked away somewhere in the forests of Lower Saxony, the Kunststätte Bossard studio tells the little-known story of German Expressionist art. What’s more, the artist Johann Bossard transformed his estate into a veritable Nordic sanctuary. However, a scandal that erupted in 2017 revealed the true, shocking purpose of Bossard’s art. The artist sought a romantic rebirth of the German nation in the spirit of the Norse god Odin, and the greatest criminal of the 20th century was to help him achieve this goal.
Struggles
Born at the end of the 19th century, Johann Bossard worked for years to achieve success. He came from the small town of Zug in Switzerland, and it was this town that provided him with a small scholarship to study in Munich. Before that, Johann had helped build furnaces to somehow earn enough for his dream studies.
After his time in Munich, the artist moved to Berlin, where he began to achieve his first successes in art. His paintings and sculptures attracted buyers, and in time, cities began to take an interest in the artist’s projects. Thanks to these new funds, Bossard was able to continue his studies, and in 1906 he became a professor at the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts and began teaching. After several years of work, the artist bought a plot of land in the small town of Jesteburg near Hamburg and decided to create a total work of art there. This monumental masterpiece was intended to combine various fields of art and express the owner’s views.
Total Art
Construction began in 1912, but the First World War soon brought it to a halt. Bossard was sent to the Western Front, where he fought from 1916 until the end of the war. Although Germany’s dire situation after the Great War made further construction impossible, work resumed after some time. It was after the war that Bossard gradually moved from neoclassical sculpture to a completely new form of expressionist and cubist art.
This new style, or rather the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), served to create a home in which every centimetre is a work of art. Moreover, among German proponents of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the idea of a rebirth and a rejection of the oppressive present emerged. Bossard and his art were a reaction to the rapidly changing world and a certain blandness of the era of Emperor Wilhelm II. This stagnation was linked to the breakdown of social structures and the waning patriotism of some Germans, which were felt towards the end of the 19th century. According to the artist, the situation worsened following the establishment of the Weimar Republic.
Return to the homeland
The response to this weakness in German society was the Heimatschutz style (homeland style), which drew on regional motifs from traditional German architecture. Bossard used this style to build his home and studio, which stood out for their expressionist brick façade. The façade is composed of various types of bricks and bonds. Of particular interest are the basket-weave bonds, reminiscent of wickerwork. Sculptures are also visible on the façade, and the windows feature sharp, almost runic patterns. This last element is no accident, but more on that later.
The interiors of the studios are intended to evoke a homely atmosphere flooded with Cubist and abstract art. Sharp shapes and mythical figures create a fantastical world inspired by German Romanticism. It was this era that served as a key point of reference for the creators of total art and for Bossard. It is also worth noting the ubiquitous sculptures alluding to Norse myths, in which Bossard saw Proto-Germanic roots.
Those familiar with 20th-century history will likely have already noticed that this fairy-tale, idyllic atmosphere is by no means so innocent. Tales of Norse, Proto-Germanic gods, the rebirth of the German nation and the soul of the people forged by nature are immediately associated with Volkism. This view, widespread amongst Germany’s wealthy bourgeoisie, was based on the neo-pagan and nationalist ideas mentioned earlier. Over time, scientific racism, ‘racial superiority’ and anti-Semitism were added to Volkism. The inspiration drawn from Norse myths is therefore no coincidence, though it is also worth noting that Bossard’s approach to politics was highly nuanced.
The highlight of the estate is a veritable temple of neo-pagan art (Kunsttempel). The square-plan structure was built from 1926 onwards and was Bossard’s life’s work.The brick expressionism fashionable in the 1920s inspired the artist to create a spectacular clinker façade with ceramic sculptures embedded in the walls. The dark-blue faces and figures allude to scenes from Norse mythology, and the same motif is repeated on the copper doors to the temple. It is also worth noting the sharp triangular gables and the metal structure.
Ragnarök
Inside, the artist sought to present three cycles of his art telling stories of: man’s struggle with nature, the abstract world prior to living organisms, and humanity’s harmony with the gods. The interior evokes Scandinavian wooden peasant cottages, whilst the sharp, irregular decorations are elements typical of German Expressionism. The polychromes were painted directly onto the wood, and the whole space is illuminated by a large coffered skylight featuring mythical scenes. As this is a work of total art, every centimetre is covered with decorations, reliefs or sculptures.
The second significant room is the Edda Hall (Eddasaal). The Edda comprises two Old Norse works from Iceland containing the most important Norse myths. These tales are depicted on the walls of the former studio in the Bossard house. Johann’s wife, Jutta, whom he married in 1926, is the co-author of these paintings. Interestingly, the couple met at the university where Johann was a lecturer and Jutta a student. The murals cover the entire surface of the room, and among the figures depicted are Odin and Heimdall, who is to blow the horn to herald the start of Ragnarök (the Norse end of the world).
For Johann Bossard, the end of the world as depicted in Norse writings was not merely romantic fiction. This old world, embodied by the weak and chaotic Weimar Republic, had to pass away. After the apocalypse, the world was to be reborn, and humanity return to unity with nature. Odin himself was a symbol of courage and sacrifice with whom the artist identified, as the mythical god was said to have sacrificed his eye in exchange for secret knowledge.
An ‘unfortunate’ discovery
Bossard died in the privacy of his estate in 1950, and his wife continued to work on and look after their art until her death in 1996. The estate then passed into the hands of their foundation, established to preserve the Bossards’ art, with funds for conservation also coming from local authorities and banks. However, public and media attitudes towards the Kunststätte Bossard changed in 2017 when it emerged that a swastika, placed there after 1933, was found in the floor of the Eddasaal.
The media and major newspapers such as Deutsche Welle and The New York Times began writing about a “museum for a Nazi” and possible pilgrimages by neo-Nazis to the site. Johann Bossard was branded an anti-Semite and a Nazi, and the Kunststätte Bossard museum faced serious allegations. However, the museum’s response was swift and precise. The board commissioned historians to prepare a report on Bossard’s views and his relationship with the NSDAP.
Guilty or innocent
In the final version of the 2024 report, it emerged that Bossard’s attitude towards Nazism was highly nuanced. On the one hand, the artist supported Hitler’s rise to power and saw him as the one who would revive the fallen German nation. On the other hand, he was never a member of the NSDAP, and following the purges of 1934, Bossard abandoned Hitlerism and distanced himself from political affairs. Through his connections within the party, the artist had hoped to reach the NSDAP elite with his art, but after 1933 it became clear that Hitler was by no means a supporter of romantic neo-paganism or Expressionist art. Alfred Rosenberg, one of the theorists of National Socialism, came in person to view his works, but he did not like Bossard’s art.
After 1934, Bossard also realised that the ‘New Man’ he had expected from Hitler turned out to be a political ploy, and that his romantic ideas were a tool of the Nazi dictatorship. Regarding anti-Semitism, researchers have found some uncomfortable quotes, but it is worth noting that for Bossard, race was not a collection of physical traits. It was more about the aforementioned “soul of the people”. There is also no evidence of his support for the extermination of Jews or the idea of Lebensraum. To better understand this sensitive topic, it is worth reading the 100-page report available in German. As can be seen, places such as the Kunststätte Bossard are necessary, not only to showcase spectacular art, but also to preserve the memory of Germany’s difficult and dark past. You can read about another, similar case from nearby Bremen HERE.
Source: Kunststätte Bossard
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