He was apprenticed with the firm of Buhler and Lauter in New York where he received his early training. He took evening classes at the Art Students League of New York. Much of his early work was as a muralist, including in 1912 four murals for the Woolworth Building; the first building to be called "the Cathedral of Commerce."
In 1915 Jennewein became a naturalizedU.S. citizen when he was twenty-five years old. Soon afterward he entered the United States Army. In 1916 his tour was cut short when he was awarded an honorable discharge after receiving the Rome Prize, a highly sought-after art award. This allowed him to study at the American Academy in Rome for the next three years; in Rome Jennewein turned his attention to sculpture. By 1928, Jennewein had set up his studio in the Van Nest section of the Bronx where he remained until 1978, the year of his death.
Frieze on the Finance Building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, in Harrisburg (1938).
Later career
The work that he is probably best known for today, and which garnered him much praise when it was unveiled in 1933, was the polychrome figures in the pediment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jennewein was one of 252 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International Exhibition of the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summer of 1949.
Jennewein's sculpture, which never strayed too far from the classical ideals that he had come to so admire while in Rome, became increasingly modernized and his style comfortably fits into the Greco Deco category.
Jennewein's work received some attention when his Noyes Armillary Sphere disappeared during a riot in Washington, D.C., in the turbulent 1960s. It has not yet been recovered.
He also executed a number of medals during his career. In 1933, Jennewein sculpted Glory and Fame, the seventh issue in the long running Society of Medalists series. He also designed the inaugural medal for President Harry S. Truman in 1949.
Spirit of JusticeNational Socialist postcards issued from 1937 – 1944 by The House of German Art. Left below Jennewein's ‘Der erste Schritt’, or ‘First Step’, depicting his wife Gina and their son Paul. An identical cast of ‘First Step’ is displayed by the Museum of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Several posthumous profiles of Jennewein have brought attention to his participation in the Great German Art Exhibitions (Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung) in Munich in 1937, 1938, and 1939.[4][5][6] The shows were held annually in the House of German Art (Haus der Deustchen Kunst) from 1937-1944 with direct oversight from Adolf Hitler.[7] According to Head of Archive at Haus Der Kunst Sabine Brantl, which succeeded the Haus der Deutschen Kunst after the fall of the Nazi Germany, the exhibitions "established an aesthetic and political space that served to implement and display" the ideological goals of Nazism, including the construction of an Aryan supremacist racial hierarchy.[7] Additionally, the exhibitions attempted to contrast with art that the Nazis had labeled as “degenerate” and purged from Germany.[8] Artists exhibiting at the House of German Art were required to be members of the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts (Reichskulturkammer), which in turn could only be attained by submitting proof of "Aryan descent".[9][10] However, it is not known whether Jennewein was a member; he may have been granted an exception to the requirement.[5]
Jennewein visited the Great German Art Exhibition in 1937 and came back very enthusiastic. In a letter d.d. 8 December 1937 to the American Architect Charles Borie, Jennewein writes: “I have just returned from a great trip, and I am still talking about the things I saw in Germany….I also feel that at last I have found out the answer to: 'What is wrong with American Art’.[11] In 1938 he was selected in Munich to a group of 25 preferred artist who were allowed to display yearly more than 5 artworks at the Great German Art Exhibitions.[12] His displayed works, photographed by Heinrich Hoffmann (photographer), were printed on postcards issued by the House of German Art.[13] Several works by Jennewein, identical to his bronzes displayed in the Third Reich, are currently displayed by American institutions, including Yale University and the Metropolitan. In 1938 Jennewein sold three bronzes to Adolf Hitler: 'Tänzerin' ('Greek Dance'), 'Rast' (Resting') and 'Komödie' ('Comedy') for 600, 370, respectively 380 Reichsmark.[14] After the war the US government apparently paid him almost 30,000 dollars compensation for the destruction of his art works bombed in Munich by Allied bombers.[5]
Recognition
Because Jennewein's studio was located in the Van Nest section of the Bronx, an honorary street sign was designated on June 2, 2011, to reflect his 50 years of contributions to the world of art and sculpture. Among those in attendance at the renaming ceremony were Jennewein's son James and his wife. Additionally, representatives from the National Sculpture Society and Brookgreen Gardens also were present for the unveiling ceremony.[15][16]
In 1929 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1933.
^Brantl, Sabine (2017). Brantl, Sbaine; Wilmes, Ulrich (eds.). Histories in conflict: Haus der Kunst and the ideological uses of art, 1937-1955. Munich: Sieveking Verlag. pp. 30–31. ISBN9783944874654.
^Fragment of a letter d.d. 8 December 1937 to the American Architect Charles Borie, published in ‘C. Paul Jennewein, Sculptor’ by Shirley Reiff Howarth, 1980: “I have just returned from a great trip, and I am still talking about the things I saw in Germany….You have no doubt heard of the Haus der Deutsche Kunst, who have replaced the Glaspalast in Munich. Out of the 23.000 submissions, only 860 pieces were accepted, and to my astonishment, five hundred were sold. Considering that 10% of the work was not for sale, the above figures must sound somewhat staggering. The attendance at the exhibition was over one half million in three to four months’ time. This is just to give you a small idea of what is going on over there. I also feel that at last I have found out the answer to: ‘What is wrong with American Art’.
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