Wilhelm Schmidthild

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilhelm Schmidthild (also Schmidt-Hild ; born January 30, 1876 in Hildesheim as Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Schmidt ; † January 30, 1951 in Peine ) was a German painter , graphic artist , illustrator and art professor. In the field of activity between factual documentation (as an illustrator for scientific works of zoology and botany ) and free art, he was committed to precise realism .

Life

Schmidthild was born in Hildesheim in 1876 and was baptized as a Protestant with the first name Karl Friedrich Wilhelm . His father was the engine driver Wilhelm Schmidt.

After graduating from high school, he studied at the Nordheim teacher training college, at the Hanover School of Applied Arts and at the Kassel Art Academy with Louis Kolitz .

After his legal clerkship, he worked as a primary school teacher in Hanover and Hildesheim. In 1896 he was accepted into the public service and then passed exams as a teacher. In 1911 the drawing teacher examination took place and he became a high school teacher. He also trained at Walter Thor's painting school in Munich.

From 1919 he only worked as a drawing teacher and later became a professor of painting.

Artistic work and travel

In 1909 he went on study trips to Sweden and Denmark. From 1919 he worked as a drawing teacher at the secondary school in Barth. Extensive graphic and painterly works were created, always with a regional reference: animals , landscapes and maritime themes. In the same year Schmidthild joined the Pomeranian artist association. Study trips to Argentina and Brazil (1919), Mecklenburg (1924), Neuburg am Inn (1925), Halle and to Italy to Lake Garda, Venice, Verona and Bozen (1926) followed. He devoted himself to etchings, drawings and calendar sheets that are influenced by Art Nouveau. In 1927 Schmidthild became a drawing teacher at the Ernestinum in Rinteln. There he created landscape paintings and cityscapes with a regional reference and illustrations (colored drypoint stitches ) and others. a. for the bird books of the zoologists Carl Floericke and Walter Heimroth, 1929 and 1930. This was followed by the official name change from Schmidt to Schmidthild (Schmidt-Hild), a reference to his native town. From 1931 until his retirement in 1938 he taught as an art professor at the State Drawing Academy in Hanau . In the same year he took part in the Great German Art Exhibition in Munich and in exhibitions in Berlin and Darmstadt.

He signed his works with W.Schmidt-Hild , W. Schmidthild and SCHMIDTHILD or monogrammed them with SH. a. by the Berlin gallery Amsler & Ruthardt.

classification

Schmidthild worked in almost all media, he was considered an excellent draftsman and eraser . As a late historical painter he remained connected to realism throughout his life and was a sought-after painter of zoological and botanical representations. He worked on behalf of specialist publishers and museums, he created detailed depictions of exotic birds and plants.

Although Schmidthild's work was close to Art Nouveau at times, he was critical of later developments, which he attested in 1921: “Speculation with the lust for sensation and the pursuit of profit”, which he countered with his own work “Ernst und Fleiss”.

reception

If a large part of his works had a scientific function at the time of creation or were aimed at a scientific-botanical audience, these are now valued more from an artistic point of view.

In public collections there are works u. a. in the Natural History Museum Braunschweig , in the City Museum Stettin , in the collections of the cities of Rinteln , Homberg , Barth and at the Letter Foundation .

Two etchings are in the collection of the University of Giessen , one Art Nouveau etching depicting a woman on a rock in the Bitterfeld District Museum.

A significant part of his works came to the USA after 1945, partly through acquisition by members of the American armed forces.

Exhibitions

  • Wilhelm Schmidthild (1876–1951) - How wonderfully nature shines for me ... - Representations with graver, pen and brush.
    Special exhibition in the Vineta Museum Barth, February 7th - May 17th, 2016.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilhelm Schmidthild at the LETTER Foundation, accessed on August 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ Images at the University of Giessen, accessed on August 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ Figure in Museum.Digital, access on August 30, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Schmidthild, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt-Hild, Wilhelm; Schmidt, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm (birth name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter, graphic artist, illustrator and art professor
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Hildesheim
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1951
Place of death Torment