Weimar Berlin: G.G. Kobbe, an artist in Weimar Berlin

1925

George G. Kobbe, born in Berlin the 5th of April 1902, died in November 1934, that is about all I could find about this artist, who illustrated magazines like "Berliner Illustrierten Zeitung", "Scherl's Magazin", "Uhu", "Die Dame" and "Sport im Bild". He did also numerous book covers. His drawings had a humoristic quality and were often accompanied by texts in the same vein. He used also Peter Buddel as a signature.

He studied in Berlin under Emil Orlik, as did Hannah Höch, George Grosz, Karl Hubbuch, Oskar Nerlinger and Josef Fenneker. and was active in the Dada movement.

He died at 32, if my informations are correct. And they might well be, as I haven't found anything by him later than 1933. Was his real name George, or did he anglicize his given name as did George (Georg) Grosz? Otherwise no common traits between the two artists. If there is any humor in Grosz caricatures, it is a cruel one, whereas G.G. Kobbe has been called "a poet of the pencil".

From Gebrauchsgraphik (Applied Arts), 1933:

"Kobbe had a special talent for finding the right proportion between illustration and lettering, which is one of the most important qualifications for every lithographic artist. To attain this unity Kobbe always starts his work by choosing the type and determining the general typographical idea. Not till then does he add the illustrations, these indeed almost always in the sketch on the brush-proof. This explains the balance he achieves between black and white, between repose and movement. The essence of Kobbe's art lies in the high aesthetic qualities of his work as a whole and the humor and vivaciousness of his illustrations."