Terra incognita: Studien zu Dorf und Künstlerkolonie am Beispiel Willingshausen in der Schwalm. Fremdheitserfahrungen - gelebte Gemeinschaft - wechselseitiger Einfluss

The study discusses the village of Willingshausen in the Schwalm region, its artist colony that emerged in the 19th century, and its interrelations, i.e. those of rural and urban culture. It is a microhistorical contribution to the history of the village and a principally historical observation of the artist colony. This presentation of the village explains local history and construction, while also detailing the building stock. The study also focuses on the rural population and its living conditions, with its various groups of inhabitants, including a differentiated peasant structure, dignitaries and the local aristocratic family. The basic features of traditional Schwälmer dress are also described. The work also focuses on the formation of the Willingshausen artist colony and its development up to and beyond the First World War. The work of the female artists in the village and dependencies in neighbouring villages will also be discussed. A further focus will be the artist community, with its symbols of community, enterprise and group formation, sometimes alongside tensions and conflicts. Beyond this, the artists’ motivations for a study trip and their initial local experiences will be highlighted. One principal focus of the study is the cooperation among the overall population. The efforts made by the village population with respect to accommodation and services will be presented. The study examines the experiences people had with each other, the resulting changes in the village and the activities of the lived community. It was possible to show that for Willingshausen, the term “artist colony” is only meaningful from around the mid-19th century onwards. Moreover, it was possible to prove that alongside a functioning community, conflicts arose among the painters themselves and that disputes and difficulties arose among artists and generations thereof. During research, it became clear that both the guests and the locals experienced feelings of foreignness. This was however more of a challenge for the city folk, who had to come to terms with the conditions in Willingshausen. The villagers in contrast reacted with great versatility to the changes, with sections of the population being able to benefit from them. It became clear that the women were able to achieve conceptual and material gains in their exchanges with the artists. By overcoming experiences of foreignness and by bringing the guests and locals closer together, a shared daily life developed to some extent. The study presents neither merely the history of Willingshausen nor the artist colony; rather, it reflects the interrelationships between urban and rural life, artists and villagers, and their experiences of foreignness, influence and togetherness.