Sketches from Bonn: The beginnings of the Federal Government in 1949
With quick strokes and a watchful eye, the artist Milein Cosman sketched the first West German government in the fall of 1949 and captured scenes of parliamentary business in Bonn's government district.
Sketch by Milein Cosman: Federal Parliament Chamber 1949
When the weekly magazine "Heute", founded by the American military government, offered her a commission in Bonn, Cosman did not think twice. As a young artist, she did not yet have a secure income at the time and the prestigious commission offered her the opportunity to become better known in Germany.
75 years ago, Milein Cosman became a contemporary witness: she saw the politicians move into their offices and took part in debates and meetings of the first German parliament. She drew sketches at a rapid pace - as fleeting as the first days in the new parliament - and sent a wealth of drawings and portraits to the "Heute" editorial team.
Within four days, I managed to take portraits of the Federal Chancellor, Dr. Adenauer, and the Federal President, the entire cabinet, members of the opposition and the Allied High Commission.
Milein Cosman
Portraits of the politicians of the Bonn Republic
The 28-year-old artist drew the politicians with a certain detachment and perceived them primarily as her subjects and not as famous personalities. She was not impressed by the different reactions to her portraits. Her aim was to fulfill the commission as well as possible and capture all the subjects.
Looking back, I'm amazed that I wasn't shaking in my shoes. But this composure was, I think, the key to getting the job done. There was no hero worship involved. There was no fear.
Milein Cosman
Sketch by Milein Cosman: Konrad Adenauer 1949
Milein Cosman's encounter with Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer testified to her self-confidence and professionalism as a portraitist. At a press conference, the young artist had sketched him in action and captured his serious expression. Adenauer was dissatisfied with his portrayal. He therefore invited Cosman to sketch an existing portrait of him in his house in Rhöndorf. Cosman indignantly turned down this invitation. After that experience, Adenauer refused to receive the political cartoonist Victor Weisz two weeks later.
A return to Germany?
In the fall of 1949, Milein Cosman traveled to Germany for the second time since the end of the Second World War. As the child of Jewish parents, she left her homeland due to the danger of National Socialist persecution and went into exile in Great Britain.
The artist was delighted that the commission from the weekly magazine "Heute" brought her to Bonn and thus to her homeland, the Rhineland. She listened to the Rhenish accent and took in the landscape along the Rhine.
Cosman was impressed by Carlo Schmid, then Vice President of the German Bundestag and SPD politician. When he tried to persuade her to return to Germany, however, she refused. A return was inconceivable for the portraitist.
Cosman's sketches were published in November 1949 on two double-page spreads accompanied by notes by the journalist Robert Müller. After that publication, the drawings of the historical scenes and people lay in a drawer of her graphics cabinet in exile in London for decades. Shortly before the artist's death, she acquired the art collection of the German Bundestag. In spring 2024, a selection of the sketches was on display in the special exhibition "Drawing the Moment - The Artist Milein Cosman" at the Stadtmuseum Bonn.
Sketch Milein Cosman: Panorama view of Bonn
Sketch Milein Cosman: Carlo Schmid 1949
Sketch by Milein Cosman: Ludwig Erhard 1949
Sketch Milein Cosman: Press tribune 1949
Sketch by Milein Cosman: Rhine bank and panoramic view 1949
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