"With him, we are losing an artist and also a friend who had great knowledge in many areas, who was closely associated with the Saarpfalz district, its history and culture throughout his life and with whom we as a district always worked together intensively and with pleasure": with these words, District Administrator Frank John paid tribute to Homburg artist Hermann Theophil Juncker, who died on 7 December at the age of 97. There was intensive collaboration right into old age.
"The fact that Hermann Theophil Juncker had close ties to Homburg and the Saar Palatinate can of course also be traced back to his family roots," emphasised the district administrator. Heinrich Runck (1833-1899), the artist's great-grandfather, was a Protestant pastor in the former "district office town". "Hermann Theophil Juncker therefore also had a special relationship with the town church for family reasons when he was commissioned to design its windows". According to Frank John, photographs of these stained glass works were used several times as motifs for the Saarpfalz district's Christmas greetings cards. Incidentally, it was Juncker's great-grandfather who founded the Latin school in 1873, from which today's Saarpfalz-Gymnasium emerged - the Saarpfalz district is now the sponsor of this school. His father, Franz Juncker, a theologian by training, came to the then "Knaben-Realgymnasium" as a religion teacher. Hermann Theophil Juncker himself was an art teacher from 1955 to 1987 at the "Mädchen-Realgymnasium", which later became the "Staatl. Christian von Mannlich-Gymnasium". This school was also later transferred to the Saarpfalz district school authority.
The work that Hermann Theophil Juncker did for and with the district is diverse and almost impossible to keep track of. For example, he designed the title of the "Kreisbuch", which was published in 1968 to mark the 150th anniversary of the then district of Homburg. He also created many of the illustrations in this volume. The tradition remained alive: When the Saarpfalz district looked back on two centuries in 2018, Juncker created a limited edition graphic that was presented as a gift of honour. The three-dimensional object he created for the main branch of the Kreissparkasse bank in Homburg's Talstrasse was a particular eye-catcher in the city centre. This work was characterised by his unmistakable style and the "Juncker ship", his signature. This "art in public space", which was installed facing the "Hägin" department stores', has unfortunately disappeared today.
He has also worked closely and constructively with the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation since it was established in 1988. A medal bearing the likeness of the foundation's namesake was designed by Juncker. This had been presented to the first winner of the Siebenpfeiffer Prize, Franz Alt, among others. Juncker also designed the cover of the book "A Life for Freedom", which was published to mark the 200th birthday of the first Homburg land commissioner and initiator of the Hambach Festival in 1989. This graphic was subsequently also published in large numbers as a "picture postcard". Etchings by Juncker were presented to the winners of the Siebenpfeiffer Prize. He discovered the only surviving, authentic Siebenpfeiffer portrait, a drawing, in an antiquarian bookshop in Munich, acquired it and donated it to the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation. He was an equally committed member of its "Circle of Friends". In January 2024, his work entitled "Peace, Freedom, Europe", created especially for this association, was presented to the public.
His fervent wish to find a permanent exhibition space for his paintings and those of his father in Homburg in cooperation with the district administration was not fulfilled. "We will carry the memory of the artist and his work into the future through the numerous works that can be found in the Homburg district office as well as in other institutions of the Saarpfalz district," emphasises District Administrator Frank John.