Mathieu Molitor (German, 1873-1929) was a German artist born May 23, 1873 in Pickliesem (today in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, Eifel), Germany. His father was a construction shaftmaster, Johann Molitor. In the period from 1879-1887, numerous moves to Germany, France, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg took place while he attended elementary school. From 1887-1889, Molitor completed an apprenticeship in canal and railway construction. From 1889-1892, he was a surveyor’s assistant, draftsman and construction clerk in the Cologne civil engineering office. He then completed an apprenticeship with the decorative painter L. Manza in Cologne. In 1893, he held a managerial position in a painting shop in Cologne where he instructed journeymen and also created his first works of art to include 12 ceiling paintings for the Cafe Maximilian in Cologne. In 1894, he studied at the Grand Ducal Saxon Art School in Weimar with Professor Max Thedy. In 1898, he came to Leipzig, probably on the initiative of his friend the bookseller, Ludwig Volkmann (Breitkopf & Härtel) where he worked for the music publisher, Breitkopf & Härtel as well as the home and school picture publisher, F. E. Wachsmuth.
Mathew Molitor married the painter Helene Brehmer (1873-1939) on May 23, 1902 and the couple had a son and a daughter. His wife Helene, was the daughter of manager, Hermann Brehmer and niece of Hugo Brehmer, and through their marriage, Molitor found access to higher society. In 1908, Molitor was appointed professor by Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. He undertook several study trips to Holland, Italy and Austria. He was a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund and his artwork was very diverse, which included: Bronzes, centerpieces, landscape paintings, portraits, etchings, posters and bookplates. In addition, he created designs for architectural sculpture for the Leipzig municipal baths and created two groups of figurative bronze statues, which include; The double statue of “Mephisto and Faust” and “Mephisto and Bewitched Students” at the entrance to Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig. He also created the 5-meter wide oil painting at Auerbachs Keller titled, “Easter Walk” for which Molitor posed as a model for the figure of Faust in costume. In 1905, he created the “Gürtelbinder” bronze statue for the inner courtyard of the main university building in Jena, a gift from the corps of the Jena Senior Citizens’ Convent. He participated with landscapes and portraits in exhibitions of the Leipzig Artists’ Association in the Kunsthalle Bremen and the Kunstakademie Weimar. Mathieu Molitor died on December 23, 1929 in Leipzig, Germany and is buried in the Leipzig-Plagwitz Cemetery.
(Source: Translated from German Wikipedia)
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