Sister Hummel was born Berta Hummel on 21 May 1909 in Germany to a wealthy merchant. From a young age, she possessed an artistic temperament.
Sister Maria Hummel Day is celebrated annually on May 21 by both Catholics and non-Catholics. This day commemorates Sister Hummel, a German Franciscan nun and painter whose paintings were the inspiration for the ubiquitous Hummel figurines. As the Nazi party rose to power in the late 1930s, however, her figurines were deemed offensive, immoral, and absurd. During World War II, when the convents were closed, she was able to support herself by selling her artwork. Her porcelain figurines are still distributed internationally, particularly in Germany.
Sister Hummel was born Berta Hummel on 21 May 1909 in Germany to a wealthy merchant. From a young age, she possessed an artistic temperament. She became a well-known local artist over time. She became a Catholic nun in her early twenties and assumed the name Sister Maria Innocentia on August 22, 1931.
After a year as a novice, Sister Hummel was appointed to teach art in a convent school, where she began to paint children in her spare time. Her fellow Sisters admired her artwork and sent copies to a Stuttgart publisher that specialised in religious art, Emil Fink Verlag. The publishing house issued postcard versions of Hummel’s compositions, which were popular. In 1934, her paintings were published in book form. Despite the brutal Nazi regime, Sister Hummel was unashamed to broach political topics. In 1937, she published “The Volunteers,” a painting that Nazis deemed insulting because it depicted German children with disproportionately large skulls. The inclusion of the Star of David in Sister Hummel’s work further enraged the Nazis, who outlawed her art in Germany.
In 1940, all religious institutions were closed, leaving the nuns unemployed. Hummel lived and created art in a confined space. The Nazis confiscated fifty percent of her art revenue. The remaining sum was meagre, but it was the Sisters’ only source of income. Sister Hummel contracted tuberculosis in 1944 and was admitted to a sanatorium in Issy im Allgau twice, but she was unable to recuperate completely. She passed away at the age of 37 on November 6, 1946, and was interred in the convent cemetery.
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A Convent of Siessen Artistic Board continues her legacy by supervising the production of Hummel figurines.
Since 1935, Hummel figurines have been handcrafted at the same location in Rodental, Germany, by Hummel Manufaktur.
The M.I.Hummel Club is a distinguished international organisation founded in North America in 1977.
Visitors can view Sister Hummel’s final resting place at the Baroque Church of St. Marks.
Sister M. Gonsalva Wiegand, a close companion of Sister Bertha Hummel, penned her biography, “Sketch Me, Berta Hummel.”
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | May 21 | Sunday |
| 2024 | May 21 | Tuesday |
| 2025 | May 21 | Wednesday |
| 2026 | May 21 | Thursday |
| 2027 | May 21 | Friday |
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