Ferdinand Götz

Ferdinand Götz was born in Fürth in 1874 and died in Paris in 1941. He was Jewish and devoted himself professionally to both architecture and art painting.

In 1895, Götz moved to Munich and began his studies at the Munich Art Academy, where he studied under the German-American artist, university lecturer and later rector Carl von Marr, among others. Götz proved to be an extremely versatile artist. He created decors, designer furniture and stage sets for the theater. From 1900, he worked as an illustrator for the German magazine “Jugend”, which gave its name to the later “Jugendstil” style.

Between 1899 and around 1928, he was a regular illustrator for the satirical magazine “Meggendorfer Blätter” and the “Fliegende Blätter”, where he worked as a draughtsman and caricaturist. He produced around 80 drawings for the “Fliegende Blätter” in particular between 1930 and 1935.

One notable project was his involvement in the extension of the luxury Grand Hotel Continental in Munich in 1910. Together with Ludwig Hohlwein, Götz was responsible for the addition of a fourth storey and the interior design of the new fourth floor with 18 guest rooms.

His life changed dramatically with the rise of National Socialism. As a Jew, he was denied membership of the Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste, which forced him to live abroad from 1936. He finally settled in Paris, where he died in 1941, presumably by suicide.