Alexander Harder-Khasán (1901–1985)

Alexander Harder-Khasán (* 28.09.1901, Samara/Russia, † 1985 Hanau/Germany) was Russo-German artist known for paintings, etchings and collages. He studied painting in Elbing, East Prussia (now Elblag, Polen) from 1919 to 1921, then in Königsberg from 1921 to 1924. Afterwards, he continued his studies in Munich, Berlin and Paris. Having spent several years in Canada, the United States and Mexico, Alexander Harder-Khasán and his wife Alexandra, whom he had married in 1927, returned to Berlin in 1935 (Partsch 283).

Under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler Harder-Khasán was deemed a so-called "degenerate artist" which meant he was no longer allowed to practice his craft. The then retrained accountant was drafted by the Nazi regime at the beginning of World War II and served as a soldier. In 1944 he was imprisoned in Spandau, Berlin ("AHK: Ausdrucksstarker" 84).

From 1945 onwards, Alexander Harder-Khasán worked as a translator for the United Nations Refugee Agency. It was only after he had settled in Hanau in 1949 that he was able to fully devote himself to his artistic work again. He and his wife also played a vital role in founding the association of artists “Simplicius” in Hanau. In the immediate post-war period, he created his first pieces of expressive art, processing his experiences of war and flight ("AHK: Ausdrucksstarker" 84).

Starting in the 1960s, he employed more surreal means to realize his pictorial content. This was followed by his exploration of non-objective painting ("AHK, Kulturpreis"). Wolfgang Schulz considers the "expressive realist", as Harder-Khasán would describe himself ("AHK: Ausdrucksstarker" 84), to be one of the most imposing Russo-German artists (Schulz 53).

Sources:

"Alexander Harder-Khasán: Ausdrucksstarker Maler mit leidenschaftlicher Experimentierfreude." Begraben – aber nicht vergessen: Bekannte Persönlichkeiten auf Hanauer Friedhöfen. Wolfgang Armin Nagel-Stiftung, ed. Hanau, 2008. 84–85. Web. October 29, 2024. https://www.hanau.de/mam/friedhoefe/begraben_aber_nicht_vergessen_-_hauptfriedhof.pdf .

"Alexander Harder-Khasán." Kulturpreis des Main-Kinzing-Kreises. Der Kreisausschuss des Main-Kinzig-Kreises: Amt für Kultur, Sport, Ehrenamt und Regionalgeschichte Fachbereich Kultur. Web. October 29, 2024. https://www.kulturpreis.net/15-preistraeger-details/15-harder-khasan-alexander.html .

Partsch, Susanna. "Harder-Khasán, Alexander" Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: Die bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. Vol. 69. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011.

Schulz, Wolfgang, et al. Deutsche Im Osten: Geschichte, Kultur, Erinnerungen. Koehler & Amelang, 1994.