Heinrich Nüsslein (Nürnberg 1879-1947 Ruhpolding) 

Tempel an einer Meeresbucht bei Sonnenaufgang [Temple on a Bay at Sunrise]

oil on paper

circa 1920s-30s

49,7 x 63,8 cm

The Daulton Collection

"Heinrich Nüsslein came from a poor background. An apprenticeship as a painter sought by him failed because of his limited eyesight from birth. By trading in art and antiques in his hometown of Nuremberg, Nüsslein was able to earn a considerable fortune in the years after the First World War. In 1923 he bought Kornburg Castle [Schloss Kornburg] and carried out extensive renovations there. In 1924 he came into contact with spiritualist circles and discovered his skills in mediumistic and trance painting, which made him internationally famous during the 20s and 30s. He usually painted in complete darkness with fingers, cotton wool and rags and completed a work in a few minutes. Nüsslein neither signed nor dated his pictures.  Why?  They came from a sphere beyond his conscious knowledge, in that he himself was only the medium in contact with a supersensible creative force. 'It is not I who paints, it paints,' he himself said about this mysterious process. Frequent motifs were enigmatic temples populated by shadowy figures in fantastic landscapes. Nüsslein received an honorary professorship at the Paris University of Technology and an honorary doctorate from the University of Brussels, and had numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, including in Paris, London and New York. He was also active as a spiritualist writer. During the Nazi regime, Nüsslein experienced increasing reprisals. He died on November 12, 1947, which he himself had predicted as the day of his death. A large part of his work stored at Schloss Kornburg was destroyed in 1945."  B