Sister Maria Hummel Day

I think I've always known a little about Hummels, figurines that were so popular a few decades ago (although I think it's time we all stopped hoping to become millionaires from the Hummel collection. from her), but I never thought I'd learn anything. about their creator to this day. It turns out that today is her birthday, and she has lived an interesting - albeit brief - life.

Berta Hummel was born on May 21, 1909 in Germany, she entered a Franciscan convent at the age of twenty, taking the name Sister Maria Innocentia. She has always been a good artist, and soon became an art teacher at the Soeurs' school. In her free time, she spends her time drawing pictures of children. The other nuns were so impressed by her artwork that they submitted it to a publisher. Soon her work appeared on postcards and then, thanks to Franz Goebel, they were considered porcelain figurines all over Germany.

However, Sister Maria was painting in the late 1930s, and her innocent, childish drawings were deemed ludicrous, offensive and unacceptable when the Nazi party gained power. To make matters worse, she created several pieces showing Old and New Testament images, created an emblem representing the cross and menorah, and even painted the Star of David in several pieces.

During World War II, when the school was closed, much of the convent and the remaining nuns found themselves did not receive any real means of support. It was so lucky that Sister Maria could sell her paintings. Although the Nazis took half of that income, the rest kept the Sisters from starving. Not long after the war, on November 6, 1946, Sister Maria died of tuberculosis at the age of 37.

And there you have it - the story behind those figurines is frequently imitated, in vogue, and often overlooked. Although they were popular in Europe before the war, many American GIs took them home as souvenirs after that, and they became extremely popular in the US over the next few decades.