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Description
‘Herbsttag’ (‘The Autumn Day’)
Displayed at the GDK 1942 room 6.
Bought by Albert Speer for 3,500 Reichsmark.
With original frame. The GDK-medal has been removed, bit there are still remains of the authentic red-white cord and staple.
Left: at the backside: remains of the authentic red-white cord and staple.
Right: an original GDK-medal (unknown from which work).
‘Herbsttag’ by Neudecker, displayed at the GDK 1942 room 2.
Albert Speer bought in total 8 works by Neudecker at the GDK’s.
Albert Speer’s art purchases
‘Alber Speer was an avid collector of art. …However, he made most of his purchases in some official capacity. As Generalbauinspector (General Building Inspector, supposed to reshape Berlin in line with the National Socialist representation of power), Speer bought hundreds of works to decorate the buildings he designed. The New Reich Chancellery budget alone allowed him to acquire 185 paintings at a cost of 366,230 Reichsmark. He purchased these works from a wide variety of sources, ranging from the Haus der Deutschen Kunst to the Vereinigung Bildender Künstler in Vienna….Speer also gave a great number of paintings to colleagues as gifts, for example to Adolf Hitler, to Hermann Göring, Admiral Dönitz, Hans Lammers (Chief of the Reichs Chancellery), Colonel Hans Schaede, etc….. Speer also had special sources for artworks. He noted in his memoirs: ‘If I myself wanted to give paintings to associates, I chose them among the excluded pictures stored in the cellars of the House of German Art’.’ From: ‘Art as Politics in the Third Reich’, by Jonathan Petropoulos, 1996.
From 1938 – 1944 Neudecker was represented with 21 works at the GDK’s.
Prominent GDK-artists
‘From a total of 2,465 artist only 197 participated 7 or 8 times at the GDK’s. This relative small circle of artists could be called representative of the GDK’s organizer’s aims and ideas. Among the 197 names can be found the best-known artist of the Third Reich as well as those whom Hitler particularly appreciated and whose works he bought…One can therefore safely conclude that this core group of artist represented the politico-cultural ideas of National Socialism and, at the same time, determined the public perception of the GDK’s…”. From: ‘Hitler’s Salon’, by Ines Schlenker, 2007)
| -condition | : II |
| – size | : 143 x 128 cm; unframed 121 x 106 cm |
| – signed | : right, below ‘H. Neudecker 1941’ |
| – type | : oil on canvas |
| – misc. | : with original frame; remains of the original cord of the GDK-medal |
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BIOGRAPHY: HANNS NEUDECKER
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Böhmerwaldlandschaft’ (‘Bohemian Forest Landscape’), GDK 1940 room 25. Size 120 x 105 cm. Bought by Adolf Hitler for 2,500 Reichsmark. In the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum.
Left: Hanns Neudecker, ‘ ‘Erntezeit’ (‘Harvest Time’), GDK 1941 room 23. Sold for 3,500 Reichsmark.
Right: ‘Erntezeit’ by Neudecker, depicted on a postcard.
GDK 1941 room 23, two works by Neudecker. At the left ‘Erntezeit’, at the right ‘Böhmerwald’ (‘Bohemian Forest’). 
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Am Sonnenwald’ (‘Sunny Forrest‘), GDK 1942 room 24. Bought by Albert Speer for 3,500 Reichsmark. Depicted in ‘SS Leitheft, 10. Jahrgang, Heft 8, 1944.
‘Am Sonnenwald’ by Neudecker, sold by a French auction house in 2020.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Erntelandschaft an einem Sommersonnentag’ (‘Harvest at a Sunny Summer Day’). Size 120 x 100 cm. Sold by a German auction house in 1997.
Sticker of the ‘Reichskammer der Bildende Künste’ (‘Reich Chamber of Culture’) at the back of a painting by Neudecker. 
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Berchtesgadener Land‘ (‘Berchtesgadener Land‘), GDK 1942 room 24. Bought by Albert Speer for 3,500 Reichsmark.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Boy and Old Woman Ploughing’. Size 120 x 100 cm. Date unknown. Sold by a German auction house in 2022.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Aus dem Böhmerwald‘ (‘In the Bohemian Forest‘), GDK 1942 room 24. Bought by Albert Speer for 3,500 Reichsmark.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Pastorale‘ (‘Pastoral‘), GDK 1942 room 24. Bought by Albert Speer for 2,500 Reichsmark.
Three works by Neudecker, displayed in one room at the GDK 1942 (all bought by Speer). From left to right: ‘Am Sonnenwald’, ‘Berchtesgadener Land’ and ‘Pastorale’.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Bergmorgen’ (‘Morning in the Mountains’), GDK 1943 room 18. Bought by Albert Speer for 4,000 Reichsmark.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Segen des Sommer‘ (‘Blessing oft he Summer‘), GDK 1943 room 31. Bought by Albert Speer for 5,000 Reichsmark.
Hanns Neudecker, ‘Wachaulanschaft’ (‘Landscape of Wachau‘), GDK 1943 room 12. Bought by Albert Speer for 4,000 Reichsmark.
Hanns Neudecker, romantic Third Reich painter, liked by Albert Speer
Hanss Neudecker, born in 1906 in Amberg, was a German autodidactic painter. He studied Engineering and worked for the German railways. From 1939 to 1944 Neudecker lived and worked in Zwiessel, East-Bavaria, located near the border triangle Germany-Austraia-Czech Republic.
Primary focus of Neudecker’s paintings was landscapes, depicted in romantic style, often with names referring to the ‘Heimat’, the original German homeland. Hanns Neudecker depicted especially rural scenes in the regions of Bavaria (Sout-East Germany), Bohemia (Western part of the Czech Republic), and North/West Austria. For example the Kunisch Mountains (an area including the Bavarian Forest and the Bohemian Forest), the Berchtesgadener Land, the Wachau, Hochsteiermark and the Bohemian Forest. All regions witch (ethnic) Germans, and once part of the ‘First Reich’, the Holy Roman Empire. Neudeckers landscapes easily fit in the ‘Blut und Boden’ ideology.
Landscape paintings
‘At the GDK’s landscapes amounted to aprox. 40% of the paintings exhibited; they were the most popular subject matters and generally accepted to be of high quality. Landscapes presented a relatively ‘neutral’ subject matter that could be interpreted in accordance with the ‘Blut und Boden’ ideology while, at the same time, may have been intended as a mere exercise in depicting scenic beauty…’. From: ‘Hitler’s Salon’, by Ines Schlenker, 2007.
At the Great German Art Exhibitions, Neudecker was represented from 1938 to 1944 with 21 works, which were sold for prices of up to 9,000 Reichsmark. His works were bought by:
-Hitler: ‘Böhmerwaldlandschaft’ (‘Bohemian Forest Landscape’), GDK 1943, for 2,500 Reichsmark;
-Joachim von Ribbentrop: ‘Über’m Böhmerwald’ (‘In the Bohemian Forest’), GDK 1939, for 3,500 Reichsmark;
-Gauleiter Karl Hanke: ‘Waldheimat’ (‘Forest-Homeland’), GDK 1941, for 2,000 Reichsmark;
-Luftgaukommando III: ‘Im Buchengrund’ (‘Beech-forest’), GDK 1938, for 700 Reichsmark;
-Luftwaffenkommando See: ‘Herbsttag im Böhmer Wald’ (‘Autumn in the Bohemian Forest)’, GDK 1938, for 750 Reichmark.
Prominent GDK-artists
“From a total of 2,465 artist only 197 participated 7 or 8 times at the GDK’s. This relative small circle of artists could be called representative of the GDK’s organizer’s aims and ideas. Among the 197 names can be found the best-known artist of the Third Reich as well as those whom Hitler particularly appreciated and whose works he bought…One can therefore safely conclude that this core group of artist represented the politico-cultural ideas of National Socialism and, at the same time, determined the public perception of the GDK’s…”. From: ‘Hitler’s Salon’, by Ines Schlenker, 2007.
Abert Speer bought in total for 29,500 Reichmark eight of Neudecker’s works, almost 10% of all works Speer bought at the GDK’s from 1937 – 1944. In 1942 Speer bought all 4 works at the GDK displayed by Neudecker. Works acquired by Albert Speer:
‘Herbsttag’ (‘Autumn Day’), GDK 1942, for 3,500 Reichsmark);
‘Am Sonnenwald’ (‘Sunny Forrest‘), GDK 1942, for 3,500 Reichsmark;
‘Berchtesgadener Land‘ (‘Berchtesgadener Land‘), GDK 1942, for 3,500 Reichsmark;
‘Aus dem Böhmerwald‘ (‘In the Bohemian Forest‘), GDK 1942, for 3,500 Reichsmark;
‘Pastorale‘ (‘Pastoral‘), GDK 1942, for 2,500 Reichsmark;
‘Bergmorgen’ (‘Morning in the Mountains’), GDK 1943, for 4,000 Reichsmark;
‘Segen des Sommer‘ (‘Blessing of the Summer‘), GDK 1943, for 5,000 Reichsmark;
‘Wachaulanschaft’ (‘Landscape of Wachau‘), GDK 1943, for 4,000 Reichsmark.
Albert Speer’s art purchases
‘Alber Speer was an avid collector of art. …However, he made most of his purchases in some official capacity. As Generalbauinspector (General Building Inspector, supposed to reshape Berlin in line with the National Socialist representation of power), Speer bought hundreds of works to decorate the buildings he designed. The New Reich Chancellery budget alone allowed him to acquire 185 paintings at a cost of 366,230 Reichsmark. He purchased these works form a wide variety of sources, ranging from the Haus der Deutschen Kunst to the Vereinigung Bildender Künstler in Vienna….Speer also gave a great number of paintings to colleagues as gifts, for example to Adolf Hitler, to Hermann Göring, Admiral Dönitz, Hans Lammers (Chief of the Reichs Chancellery), Colonel Hans Schaede, etc….. Speer also had special sources for artworks. He noted in his memoirs: ‘If I myself wanted to give paintings to associates, I chose them among the excluded pictures stored in the cellars of the House of German Art’.’ From: ‘Art as Politics in the Third Reich’, by Jonathan Petropoulos, 1996)
Art gallery ‘Wilhelm Grosshennig‘ send a letter at 22 August 1941 to Neudecker, expressing its interest in Neudecker’s work (Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, prominent gallery in the Third Reich, known for selling entartete kunst of the Städtische Kunstsammlungen Chemnizt, and purchaser for the ‘Sonnderauftrag Linz’).
After the war, Neudecker moved to Regensburg. Frequently he was seen painting in Kalmünz, a village with a beautifull medieval center, 25 km north of Regensburg.
Hanns Neudecker died in 1973 in Regensburg.
The German Historical Museum is in the possession of ‘Böhmerwaldlandschaft’ (GDK 1940, bought by Adolf Hitler).