 Bernhard
Epple: A Short Biography
Bernhard Epple was born October
11, 1912 in Pforzheim (South/West Germany). After graduating from the
local secondary school (Abitur) in 1932, he studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule
(Academy of Arts and Crafts) in Pforzheim until 1934 when he transferred
to the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe. He passed the state examination
for secondary school teachers in 1938. From 1938 to 1940 he taught art,
geography and sports at the secondary school (Gynmansium) in Mannheim.
He was drafted in 1940 and spent nine months as Russian prisoner of war.
He returned to teach first in Mannheim. In 1951 he transferred to the
Kurfürst-Friedrich Gymnasium in Heidelberg from which he retired in 1978.
Between 1958 and 1991 he also taught courses on drawing and other methods
of artistic representation at the University of Heidelberg.
Bernhard Epple traveled widely
within Germany and Europe, in particular Italy. His architectural drawings
and watercolors of Italian cities and landscapes attest to his many skills.
He also visited the United States  on
several occasions, spending considerable time in the San Francisco Bay
Area and in Chicago. There, he was deeply impressed by the vast landscapes
of the West, the architectural charm of San Francisco and the grandeur
and grit of Chicago. Bernhard Epple died in July 1999. While Epple is
best known for his masterful engravings, his considerable artistic legacy
includes drawings, watercolors, oil paintings, wood cuts, lithographs,
and collages. His book, Stiche (Engravings) was published by Heidelberger
Verlagsanstalt, Heidelberg, Germany in 1991 (ISBN: 3-89426-036X).
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
1957 Kabinett Dr. Hanna Grisebach,
Heidelberg, Germany
1957 Kustverein Konstanz, Konstaz,
Germany
1959 Egon Guenther Gallery,
Johannisburg, South Africa
1965 Agra Gallery, Washington,
D.C.
1966 Triton Gallery, San Jose,
CA
1968 Handschuhsheim Castle,
Heidelberg, Germany
1971 Rennard’s Underground,
Atlanta, GA
1971 Kabinett Dr. Hanna Grisebach,
Heidelberg, Germany
1972 Bürgermeister Ludwig-Reichert-Haus,
Ludwigshafen, Germany
1982 University Library, Heidelberg,
Germany
1985 German-American Institute,
Heidelberg, Germany
1988 University Library, Heidelberg,
Germany
1992 City Hall, Pforzheim,
Germany
1992 Kurpfälzisches Museum,
Heidelberg, Germany
1997 Galerie Melnikow, Heidelberg,
Germany
2002 Museum, City of Weinheim, Germany
2007 Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2008 Pacific Northwest College of Art
2010 Augen Gallery, Portland, OR |
