Hans Christiansen

The trained interior decorator studied a few semesters at the Kunst­gewerbes­chule (school of arts and crafts) in Munich, made study trips to Italy and in 1889 became self-employed as a decorative painter in Hamburg. The founding director of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Justus Brinckmann, enabled him to publish the textbook "Neue Flach­ornamente" in 1892. In Chicago, Christiansen became acquainted with the glass art of the Tiffany company. Influenced by Paris, Christiansen is considered an important representative of French Art Nouveau in Germany. In 1898, Christiansen was represented with his works at the "Darm­städter Kunst- und Gewerbe­ausstellung" and was accepted as a member of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony. However, he soon returned back to Paris and in 1912 moved his place of residence to Wiesbaden for good. His villa "In Rosen" on the Mathildenhöhe was badly damaged in 1944 and the ruins were demolished in 1958.