Die Sechs (The Six)

Biography

A group of six Munich poster artists, who in 1914 formed a collective advertising agency of that name: Franz Paul Glass (1886-1964), F. Leonhard Heubner (1886-1974), Carl Moos (1878-1959), Emil Preetorius (1883-1974), Max Schwarzer (1882-1955) and Valentin Zietara (1883-1935). All had designed for, or were still working for, the journals Jugend and Simplicissimus. Their first group exhibition took place in 1914, co-inciding with the announcement of the formation of the agency in the Yearbook of the Deutscher Werkbund. The Zurich exh. cat . of 1915 (see below) contains brief autobiographies of the original six. The association was revived in 1924 but only Glass and Zietara remained; the others were Hans Ibe, Max Eschle, Otto Ottler and Tommi Parzinger.

Writings about

  • Walter F. Schubert, ‘Die 6’, Die Reklame, May 1925, pp. 492-7
  • Der Verkehr. Jahrbuch deutschen Werkbundes 1914, Jena: Diederichs, 1914 (posters by each
  • introduction by G.J. Wolf, Munich)
  • Das Plakat, 1915 (posters by each)
  • Die Sechs (exh. cat.), Zurich: Kunstgewerbemuseums der Stadt Zürich, 1915
  • Ruth Malhorta, ‘Die ersten Plakate der Gruppe der “Sechs”, 1914’, Jahrbuch des Museums für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 1983, pp. 231-3.
  • Walter F. Schubert, Die deutsche Werbegraphik, Berlin: Francke & Lang, 1927. , 1927, pp. 31-7
    • M. Glass, ‘Die 6 in Wort und Bild’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Jahrg. 2 (1925/6?), v. 4, pp. 49-55 (showing work of The Six)

Exhibitions

  • Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich, 1915.