Die Kunst im dritten Reich [3. Jahrgang / Folge 7 / Ausgabe B] [DEDICATED TO THE NEW REICH CHANCELLERY]
München: Zentralverlag der NSDAP Franz Eher Nachf, 1939. First edition. Softcover. Folio. [277]-326, [201]-236, XIIpp (advertisement). Original illustrated wrappers with gold lettering to front cover. Striking issue of "Die Kunst im dritten Reich," the most important art magazine published in the Third Reich. Launched in January 1937, the magazine was published monthly, and had the particularity of having two variants. Ausgabe A contained only articles and photographs pertaining to fine arts, while Ausgabe B included the fine arts section of Ausgabe A to which was added an architectural section (Baukunst).
This copy contains both parts and has its architectural section entirely dedicated to the most iconic building of the Third Reich: the new Reichskanzlei (Reich Chancellery). Inaugurated in January 1939, Albert Speer's masterpiece was the embodiment of the power of the Nazi regime and Hitler's megalomaniac vision of a new architectural centre for the capital of Nazi Germany. The 37 striking b/w and color photographic reproductions of both interior and exterior views depict a building designed to impress and be the seat of a new German Empire. Photographs include the monumental entrance adorned with four pillars topped by the Nazi eagle holding a swastika; The great gates opening into a Court of Honor; The courtyard entrance flanked by Arno Breker's two larger-than-life bronze sculptures of male nudes (The Torch Bearer, and The Sword Bearer, also known as The Party and The Army); Hitler’s office and apartment (400 square metres in size); A marble gallery (480 feet long) and various banquet halls and ballrooms. Five plates of architectural drawings and floor plans (including one large folded) concludes the "Baukunst" section.
The second part of the magazine is devoted to the officially approved fine arts produced in the Third Reich. Includes b/w and color photographic reproductions of statues by Franz Mikorey, Hans Wimmer, Fritz Koelle, Ottmar Obermaier, Oswald Hofmann, Eugen Henke, Eugen Mayer-Fassold, etc.. as well as watercolors and paintings by Paul Herrmann, Wilhelm Dachauer, Leo Frank, Hans Frank, Ferdinand Andri, Ludwig Wieden, Heinrich Krause, among others. Includes Hermann Gradl's six landscapes commissioned by Adolf Hitler himself for the new Reich Chancellery.
Text in German, Gothic script. Light wear along edges of wraps, spine with some closed tears and minor chips. Corners lightly bumped. Wrappers in overall good, interior in very good condition. f to vg. Item #40133
Price: $275.00