Feininger, Julia

Julia Feininger

1880 Berlin – 1970 New York

Between 1906 and 1908 the artist Julia Berg, who studied in Berlin and Weimar, spent most of her time in Paris together with Lyonel Feininger. There they often frequented the Café du Dôme, where they came into contact with numerous artists of the international avant-garde. At this time the couple made their living by working on illustrated magazines. For both of them, the Parisian period is characterized by intensive artistic exchange: While Julia encouraged Lyonel, who was previously known mainly for his caricatures, to turn to painting, Julia again devoted herself to satirical drawings under Lyonel’s influence. In 1908 the two married, bringing to an end the fruitful phase of Julia’s Parisian years. From then on, the mother of three devoted herself mainly to her family, thus helping her husband to advance his career as a main representative of Classic Modernism and teacher at the Bauhaus.