As of: April 7, 2024, 1:55 p.m
By: Peter Kees
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Handover of the picture by Irmgard and Stefan Mayer (in the foreground) to the city of Ebersberg. © Peter Kees
The district town of Ebersberg received two historical oil paintings as a gift: two landscape paintings by the painter Elsa Plach. Donated by Irmgard and Stefan Mayer.
Ebersberg - A street in Ebersberg is named after her, but very few people will be able to understand the name: Elsa Plach (1863 to 1953) was a painter who came to Ebersberg during the turmoil of the First World War. In 1914, coming from Munich, she moved into a small place on Sieghartstrasse. Plach's life in Ebersberg was obviously quite difficult. It is said that the once wealthy woman was in great need, especially after the great inflation of 1923, and had to exchange pictures for food.
Landscape image from 1910. © Repro: pke
Painting only became a career for the “elegant lady” due to a stroke of fate. Plach was actually a coloratura singer, but hearing loss made it impossible for her to sing. It was the former Ebersberg city archivist Antje Berberich, who had drawn attention to Elsa Plach's artistic work several times in the past and had repeatedly shown a selection of her work in exhibitions.
A good number of her pictures are in the art collection of the city of Ebersberg, which was initiated by Berberich. It has now grown. Perhaps because Berberich's commitment created public awareness - Plach has not yet played a significant role in art history, even though it was temporarily part of the then well-known artists' colony of Dachau - the married couple Irmgard and Stefan Mayer decided to go to the district town on their 65th wedding anniversary to donate two oil paintings by Elsa Plach.
Landscape image from 1914. © Repro: pke
Stefan Mayer said at the official handover in the town hall that his mother - the fifth of 20 siblings - had once bought the two pictures directly from Elsa Plach in Ebersberg. So far they have been hanging in the living room of the couple (both of whom were born in Ebersberg). There is even a third painting by Plach in the family's possession. However, this should not be given away, but it can be loaned to an exhibition.
Ebersberg's mayor Ulrich Proske and Berberich's successor, Doris Wille, were delighted with the donation of the two landscape paintings, which are dated 1914 and 1919 respectively. Views of the landscape around Ebersberg are shown. However, it is difficult to pinpoint where exactly, says Erich Schechner, who works on a voluntary basis in the archive.
There may be an exhibition
Two things came up as a side note at the meeting: exhibitions like those that Antje Berberich once organized for years in the Ebersberg town hall are history. It will no longer exist in this form (even after the Corona break) because Doris Wille made it clear that she could not do this in addition to archiving.
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The other side note sounds promising, but also comes with responsibility: there are more than 750 artistic works in the city's art collection, including works by Otto Dreßler, Manfred Bergmeister and Hans-Heinrich Müller-Werther. They are not open to the public. “Of course it would be great to be able to show all of this in an exhibition,” remarked Proske. However, this involves a lot of effort, emphasized Wille. Besides, it costs money.
You will have to spend some money now, because the two exhibits donated by the Mayers should undergo a small restoration. “We do that too,” explained Wille. “At least we have to talk about it,” said Proske, who also made it clear that just storing all of these works was a task.
Nevertheless: People are at least toying with an exhibition of Elsa Plach's pictures, which could possibly take place next year. But so far it's nothing more than a nice idea.
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