Julius GUTEKUNST

Julius Gutekunst was born on December 10, 1883, in Kehl am Rhein, as the youngest of seven children. His father, Konrad Gutekunst, originally from Schönmünzach in the Murgtal, came to Kehl in 1870 as a rafting overseer for the company Trick. His mother, Emma Josephine née Pöttcher, was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Pöttcher, the innkeeper of the “Linde” in Kehl. After his father’s untimely death in March 1893, when Julius was still under ten, his mother supported the family alone, often accompanied by young Julius as she delivered newspapers and rolls in Strasbourg.

Gutekunst learned the painting trade with the Kehler master painter Stechele and became self-employed in 1907. Concurrently, he began exploring fine art painting, occasionally attending classes with Professor von Seebach at the Strasbourg Art Academy and working with the Munich artist Herterich as well as Stratschevskj from the Buxtehude artist colony. The landscape of Flanders provided a pivotal source of inspiration for his art during the First World War.

In 1937, Gutekunst handed over the management of his painting business to his son to dedicate himself more fully to his art. His works garnered recognition, leading to his induction into the German Art Chamber after submitting his paintings to Berlin. During the first evacuation of Kehl, he lived in Dillingen an der Donau and successfully exhibited in Dillingen and Augsburg. He returned to Kehl in 1940, joining Strasbourg’s artists and the “Fellowship of Upper Rhine Artists.” He was sponsored by two notable Strasbourg artists, Heinrich Beeke and G. Lehmann, and went on to hold two successful exhibitions in Strasbourg.

During Kehl’s second evacuation, Gutekunst resided in Sulz near Lahr, where he found further inspiration for his work. In October 1949, he exhibited several paintings at the Lahr “Trade and Commerce Exhibition,” where his work so impressed Baden State President Leo Wohleb that Wohleb acquired a piece for the Baden State Chancellery.