Franz Bronstert was born to the teacher for arts and music Bernhard Bronstert and his wife Luise (from the Breil-family, an organ-builder dynasty) in Dorsten. Before World War I Bronstert visited and finished the superior school for engineers in
Hagen. He served during the war in the rank of Lieutenant and later „Rittmeister" equivalent to Captain. As a prisoner of war at
Ripon,
Yorkshire he got into contact with artists
Fritz Fuhrken and
Georg Philipp Wörlen and started with his own artistic work. These contacts led to the foundation of the group of artists „
Der Fels" (The Rock) which was later completed by
Reinhard Hilker and
Carry Hauser. Past the war he settled in Hagen and made contact with the group around collector
Karl Ernst Osthaus especially with
Christian Rohlfs. The latter influenced the work of Bronstert considerably. During this time a life-time friendship with
Alfred Kubin developed. Membership in „Der Fels" led to numerous exhibitions all over Germany and Austria between 1921 and 1927. Eight portfolios with original prints of "Der Fels" were also published during this time. His participation in exhibitions of
Das Junge Rheinland(Young Rhineland) is also known of as well as participation in the group exhibition of
Hagenring at Museum Osnabrück 1929. Bronstert’s art developed from radical
expressionism of the early twenties to a
realistic phase and finally to a reformed impressionism as the artist claims himself. Bronstert finds his motifs mostly in nature. Even though Bronstert mastered several techniques, like
oil painting,
drawing,
woodcut it was the
watercolour painting that he loved most. As the financial success was not sufficient to feed a family, Bronstert had married Maria Regina Hedwig Schlickum, a relative of painter
Carl Schlickum and writer
Ferdinand Freiligrath; he took up a job as an engineer without stopping to paint. Four children were born subsequently. The possibility to work as an artist without financial pressure was the reason behind Bronsterts refusal to market himself. Bronstert was both a technical and artistic talent. He was successful in his job and was a member of the board of
VARTA with several international patents on his record when he retired. Past retirement he concentrated solely on his art again. Works by Bronstert can be found in the
Schneider Collection, Museum Baden, Solingen; in the collections of
Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum in Hagen; in the Museum
Schloss Moyland, in the
Von der Heydt-Museum,
Wuppertal, in the
Bavarian State Painting Collections,
Munich, and in the art museums of
Soest, Germany,
Iserlohn, and
Lüdenscheid as well as in private collections. Bronstert died at
Freudenberg (Baden) in 1967. ==Selection of exhibitions==