Creutz was born in
Aachen and attended the Progymnasium in
Jülich, and then the Gymnasium in
Düren, where he graduated in 1897. His father, also Max Creutz was
Königlicher Kreis-Rentmeister. Creutz studied art history in Vienna, and attended a school for painting. In
Munich and then at the
Humboldt University of Berlin he studied art history and philosophy, and trained himself in painting. Meanwhile, he traveled extensively, through Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. He attained his PhD on 16 March 1901, with a thesis titled "Masaccio, mit dem Versuch zur stilistischen und chronologischen Einordnung seiner Werke" (
Masaccio, trying to sort his works in style and time). This was followed by a period as a research assistant at the
Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, where he worked on the new edition of the
Kunsthandbuch (1904). He also published in the journal ''''. At the end of 1911, the association of craftsmen
Deutscher Werkbund, founded in 1907, hoped to have a representative exhibition of their own.
Carl Rehorst, the chairman of the Cologne Werkbund, wanted it in his city at all costs and immediately initiated the founding of an association, with himself as executive chairman, together with the mayor
Max Wallraf and the chairman of Deutscher Werkbund, . Initially, only
Karl Ernst Osthaus and Creutz were included as "local confidants" in the regional association. In 1912, Creutz was on the organizing committee of the Internationale Kunstausstellung des Sonderbundes Westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler in Cologne, bringing together more than 600 artworks from artists like Van Gogh, Munch, Picasso, Cézanne, Kirchner and others. Creutz became vice secretary for the 1914
Deutsche Werkbundausstellung. He noted in 1913 on Rehorst's urban planning: "Rehorst is attempting a balance between the preservation of the old cityscape and the construction of the new one. [...] It is particularly to Karl Rehorst's credit that, in the face of great difficulties, he has treated precisely the stepchildren of architecture: utilitarian buildings and industrial works, with as much love as the city's representative buildings." Rehorst repeatedly adapted the overall plan of the exhibition and organised it with a huge staff of municipal officials. The Deutsche Werkbundausstellung was opened on 16 May 1914. In 1919, the exhibition of the collection opened at the Kunstgewerbemuseum Köln. Creutz, a Rhinelander as Clemens, Soon, the museum's collection included not only works by the so-called German Impressionists, but also by the
Brücke painters,
Der Blaue Reiter artists, and works by . In addition to important individual works such as
Marine verte (1925) by
Max Ernst,
Sintflut (1912) by
Wassily Kandinsky, In 1923 Creutz succeeded in bringing a travelling model exhibition of Deutscher Werkbund to Krefeld, presenting over 2000 objects and graphic works from the . It consisted of works by the most important modern artists, architects and designers from the period 1900 to 1914, making Krefeld one of the few collections representing the
Bauhaus movement. In 1923, Creutz commissioned Johan Thorn-Prikker to paint monumental murals for his museum, depicting four phases of life from childhood to maturity. In 1928, in collaboration with Kandisky, he held an exhibition titled
Farbe (
Colour). Kandinsky, who contributed exhibitis, had given Bauhaus courses on the use of colour in crafts and industry, had attended a 1902 exhibition
Farbenschau organised by Deneken in Krefeld and had been inspired to contribute to the
Der Blaue Reiter almanch.
Private life and legacy Creutz was married to Käthe, née Schütze, a sister of the painter, graphic artist and women's rights activist Ilse Schütze (1868–1923), who was married to . Creutz died in 1932 at the age of 55. He did not have to witness how an essential part of his life's work was destroyed in 1937 by the Nazis' expropriation and sale of the Expressionist collection of the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum. Three 1925 painting by Mondrian escaped because Creutz had failed to list them in the inventory. The paintings
Pierrot mit Schlange by Campendonk and
Emil Nolde's
Milking Cows (1913) returned to Krefeld after World War II.
Pierrot mit Schlange was restored and exhibited again in 2016. In 2019, on the occasion of the centenary of the Bauhaus, the Kunstmuseum Krefeld held an exhibition of the Bauhaus arts, crafts and design that Creutz had brought to Krefeld. == Publications ==