Early Life and Artistic Education
Born in Landshut, Germany, Josef Mader was the second child of a teacher and his wife. His upbringing near the Isar and its floodplains sparked a deep interest in botany and zoology. In 1922, he began his training in graphics at the Kunstgewerbeschule München. During his formative years in Munich, he studied under various instructors and developed a body of work consisting of etchings and ink drawings, some of which were featured in the magazine Jugend and the London-based publication The Studio.
In 1927, Mader moved to the Kölner Werkschulen after receiving a scholarship. While studying in the painting class of Friedrich Ahlers-Hestermann, his work underwent a significant transition, moving away from naturalism toward a personal visual language influenced by Cubism. He completed his studies in 1931 as a master student at the Kölner Werkschulen before returning to Munich.
Career and Later Works
Mader established himself as a freelance painter in Munich, maintaining an atelier in Schwabing. His career saw various exhibitions, including a notable group show in 1932 at the Galerie Günther Franke. Despite facing challenges during the National Socialist era, he was awarded the Albrecht Dürer Preis in 1936. During the war, he served as a medic and later lived in Moosburg, where his studio was destroyed by bombing in 1945.
In the post-war period, Mader remained active in the art community, participating in exhibitions with the Neue Münchner Künstlergenossenschaft and the Dachauer Künstlervereinigung. His later works often blended Cubist spatial planning with a sensitive perception of nature. His art was recognized by institutions such as the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung and the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus. He passed away in Landshut.
