Christiane Pflug facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christiane Pflug
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| Born |
Sybille Christiane Schütt
20 June 1936 Berlin, Germany
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| Died | 4 April 1972 (aged 35) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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| Known for | Painting, Drawing |
| Style | Magic Realism |
| Spouse(s) |
Michael Pflug
(m. 1956) |
Christiane Pflug (born June 20, 1936 – died April 4, 1972) was a talented painter and draughtswoman. She was born in Germany and later became a Canadian artist.
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About Christiane Pflug
Christiane Pflug was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1936. Her mother, Regine Schütt, was a fashion designer who was involved in groups against the Nazi government. Christiane's parents were not married. She was a quiet child.
During World War II, Christiane lived with different family members and friends outside Berlin to stay safe from bombings. From 1941 to 1949, she lived with a strict foster mother. During this time, Christiane found comfort in books, paper, and crayons.
In 1949, Christiane reunited with her mother in Frankfurt. She often visited the Städel Museum. She also drew the views from their apartment window. This started her lifelong interest in drawing landscapes seen through frames.
Moving to Paris and Marriage
In 1953, Pflug moved to Paris to study fashion design. There, she met Michael Pflug, who would become her husband. Michael encouraged her to become an artist. Christiane and Michael married in 1956. They soon had two daughters, Esther and Ursula.
The Pflugs briefly moved to Tunis, Africa. Michael was completing a medical internship there. Christiane continued to paint landscapes and still life scenes in their house and studio.
Life in Canada
After Tunis, Christiane and her daughters moved to Munich, Germany, in September 1958. In February 1959, they settled in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Christiane's mother was already living there. Michael joined them in 1960 and started his medical practice in Toronto.
In Toronto, Christiane Pflug created her most famous paintings. These included city scenes viewed from her window. She also painted interiors with dolls. She made larger portraits of her daughter and her art dealer, Avrom Isaacs.
Christiane Pflug had little formal art training. She painted her everyday surroundings in a style called Magic Realism. This style mixes realistic details with dreamlike or fantasy elements.
Her painting Kitchen Door with Ursula (1966) is a great example of her style. In this painting, you look through an open kitchen door. Outside, it's a winter city scene. But the glass in the door reflects the same scene in summer. You can see green trees and a child on the balcony. Her paintings often used windows and birdcages. This created a feeling of being contained.
Christiane Pflug once said about her art, "I would like to reach a certain clarity which does not exist in life. But nature is complicated and changes all the time. One can only reach a small segment, and it takes such a long time."
Christiane Pflug's Art and Career
Christiane Pflug had a successful art career in Canada during her short life. She taught at the Ontario Art College (now OCAD) in Toronto. She was one of only four women to teach there in the 1960s.
Her art gained a lot of attention from galleries, collectors, and critics. She had special art shows called "retrospectives." These shows looked back at her work over time. Some of these shows were at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (1966), Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (1969), and the Alix Art Gallery (1971).
Today, her paintings are part of important collections. You can find them at the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Critics praised Pflug for her unique Magic Realism style. A newspaper, the Toronto Star, wrote about her art in 1969. They said that "time is distorted in her paintings." This means that different seasons could appear in the same painting. For example, the view outside might be winter, while the reflection on a glass door shows summer. This shows how she blended different moments in her art.
