Life
Emil Pottner was the child of a Jewish actor family; he studied from 1891 at the Munich academy with Paul Höcker as well as in Berlin. 
He took inspiration for his artistic work in the porcelain factory in Delft. 
Shortly after the turn of the 20th century he settled down in Berlin. 
From 1905 he worked in the field of small sculptures and invented a special system of porcelain sculptures; He also worked in the fields of painting, etching, lithography and woodcutting. 
In 1911 he created a collection of 79 bird models for a Majolica (Italian tin-glazed pottery dating from the Renaissance period) factory. 
Emil Pottner was a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund . He was elected to the executive committee of the Berlin Secession in 1913 and was known above all for his animal representations.

Pottner also wrote some self-illustrated books; In 1912 his texts were published with lithographs in Paul Cassirer's Pan-Presse. 
He lived in Petzow on the Havel; His ground on the water gave him inspiration for his paintings, graphics and ceramics. 
Pottner had to give up his pottery workshop in Charlottenburg at the end of 1933, as a result of the Nazi regime 's prohibition on employment. 
In 1938 he had to sell his plot in Petzow, where he had created his garden pictures and woodcuts. 
On July 24, 1942, he was deported to Theresienstadt, from there on September 26th to Treblinka and then to the extermination camp Maly Trostenets, on the outskirts of Minsk. His last sign of life dates from 28 September 1942. 

Appreciation and Reception 

As early as 1928 Pottner's works were recognized by Karl Schwarz:

"Emil Pottner is an artist of astounding versatility in the technical representation of a special area. Starting out from the landscape, he discovered his love for the feathered world and became one of their most prolific interpreters in painting and graphics, not least in ceramics and fine porcelain figurines".

Pottner's works were exhibited in the Jewish Museum in Berlin's Oranienburger Strasse in 1935; Braunschweig also honored him with an exhibition in 1952. 
In a large Secession exhibition of the Berlin Kunstverein in 1982, Pottner was represented with ten paintings, graphics and ceramics.
Since the 1990s, the art historian Markus Oertel has compiled extensive material on the work and life of Pottner. His works are, among others, in the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. 

Exhibitions 

Emil Pottner - Painting, Graphics, Sculpture: Museum of the Havelländischer Malerkolonie, Schwielowsee OT Ferch, near Potsdam, Germany (July, 2016).

Additional Information:

St. Francis of Assisi

A profile of the patron saint of animals and ecology

St. Francis of Assisi (1181/1182-1226), patron saint of animals and environment could be viewed as the original Earth Day advocate. Francis' devotion to God was expressed through his love for all of God's creation. St. Francis cared for the poor and sick, he preached sermons to animals and praised all creatures as brothers and sisters under God. 

St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and ecology, was born in Italy around 1181-1182.

After a wild youth and a brief career as a soldier, Francis had a conversion experience that inspired him to renounce his family’s wealth and devote his life to God. His dedication to poverty, humility, obedience, patience and compassion soon attracted followers and, in 1209, he received permission from Pope Innocent III to form a new religious order known as the Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans). 

Francis' deep love of God overflowed into love for all God's creatures—expressed not only in his tender care of lepers and his (unsuccessful) attempt to negotiate peace between Muslims and Christians during the fifth Crusade, but also in his prayers of thanksgiving for creation, his sermons preached to animals and his insistence that all creatures are brothers and sisters under God. 

In 1224, Francis became the first saint in history to receive the stigmata (the wounds of Christ crucified). On October 4, 1226, Francis died in the town of Assisi and was quickly canonized by Pope Gregory IX. Today, over three million people a year make a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Francis, revealing him to be one of the most popular and beloved saints of all time.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II paid tribute to Francis' love for creation by declaring him the patron saint of ecologists.

In his speech, the Pope encouraged Catholics to follow the example of Saint Francis by embracing all creatures as members of a single family and by offering respect, dignity and care to each family member.