Rigenerated eyes: Gilles, Bargheer, Levy
Great painters have frequented Sant’Angelo in the last century. Werner Gilles arrived in Sant’Angelo in 1936, under a self-imposed exile, because he was part of that strong Teutonic expressionism that was defined as “degenerate” by National Socialism. From 1937 to 1941 he found a small winter shelter and since 1951 he frequented the village assiduously to devote himself to painting.
The painter and engraver, Eduard Bargheer, also settled in Sant’Angelo. His art, influenced by Van Ghog and Munch, changed radically discovering color and liveliness. His vision became more abstract, perhaps because Ischia inspired philosophical research. Another “degenerate” expressionist of Jewish origin who attended Sant’Angelo was Rudolf Levy who, in 1939, joined the small community of German artists formed by Karli Sohn-Rethel, Kurt Craemer, Max Peiffer Watenphul and, precisely, Gilles and Bargheer.
By Raffaele Mirelli
