Fritz Erler - Selbstporträt 1908 (Jugend 1914)

Fritz Erler (15 December 1868 – 11 December 1940) was a German

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

, graphic designer and

scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...

er. Although most talented as an interior designer,in the ''Grove Dictionary of Artists'' at Oxford art online, retrieved 15 December 2009 (registration or affiliation with a participating institution necessary for full entry)
/ref> he is perhaps best remembered for several propaganda posters he produced during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Education and early career

He was born in

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...

(

Schlesien Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

). Beginning in 1886 he studied under Albrecht Bräuer at the school of art in Breslau. He also attended the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the numbe ...

in Paris. In 1895 he moved to Munich and lived from 1918 in

Holzhausen am Ammersee Holzhausen may refer to: Places ;Germany * Holzhausen, Münsing, a locality in the municipality of Münsing, Bavaria * Holzhausen am Ammersee, part of Utting on the Ammersee, Bavaria * Holzhausen über Aar, a village in Hessen * Holzhausen (Strals ...

. His first designs date from 1893: vases, glass windows, book covers, later furniture, theatrical sets, and interior decorations. In 1896 he was a founding member of the magazine '' Jugend''. He also painted several portraits around the start of the 20th century, most notably of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...

and

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...

World War I and afterward

Along with

Arthur Kampf Arthur Kampf (28 September 1864 in Aachen – 8 February 1950 in Castrop-Rauxel) was a List of German painters, German painter. He was associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Life Kampf studied under Peter Janssen, among others, ...

Erler was one of the official military painters for the

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

. His paintings were commissioned as war propaganda. The promotional poster for the sixth

war bond War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are ...

(''sechste Kriegsanleihe'') was adorned with his painting ''Helft uns siegen!'' (1917), perhaps Erler's best-known work. It brought in at least 13.1 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the nove ...

more than any other campaign. Its power of moral exhortation has been compared to

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...

's iconic poster of Uncle Sam, while the idea ultimately derives from the influential ''

Lord Kitchener Wants You Lord Kitchener Wants You is a 1914 advertisement by Alfred Leete which was developed into a recruitment poster. It depicted Lord Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for War, above the words "WANTS YOU". Kitchener, wearing the cap of a Br ...

'' poster of 1914.Clark, Toby. (1997) ''Art and Propaganda in the Twentieth Century: The Political Image in the Age of Mass Culture''. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 107 A soldier, his face darkened from the muck of the trenches, gazes beyond the viewer into

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

with eyes that shine as if from an inward light. This heroic image depicts the widespread contemporary belief that trench warfare would somehow be a morally cleansing experience. During the National Socialist period Erler's portraits of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Franz von Epp Franz Ritter von Epp (born Franz Epp; from 1918 as Ritter von Epp; 16 October 1868 – 31 January 1947)Lilla, Joachim: Epp, Franz Ritter v.'. In: Staatsminister, leitende Verwaltungsbeamte und (NS-)Funktionsträger in Bayern 1918 bis 19 ...

, and

Wilhelm Frick Wilhelm Frick (12 March 1877 – 16 October 1946) was a prominent German politician of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), who served as Reich Minister of the Interior in Adolf Hitler's cabinet from 1933 to 1943 and as the last governor of the Protectorate ...

were very remunerative. Erler died in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in 1940.

References

External links

Entry
in the Getty List of Artist's Names
Posters by Erler
in the collection of the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erler, Fritz 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German Symbolist painters 1868 births 1940 deaths People from Ząbkowice Śląskie People from the Province of Lower Silesia German war artists World War I artists Académie Julian alumni

Education and early career

World War I and afterward

See also

References

External links