Erwin Spuler (22 March 1906 – 7 April 1964) was a German

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

, painter, and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

. He was born in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...

.Spuler, Erwin, Sylvia Bieber, Erika Rödiger-Diruf, and Ursula Merkel (2001). ''Erwin Spuler: Maler, Zeichner, Graphiker, Plastiker, Photograph, Filmemacher''. Heidelberg: Kehrer. p. 13. . He studied art in Stuttgart in 1922–1923. From 1924 to 1930 he studied in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...

where his teachers included

Georg Scholz Georg Scholz (October 10, 1890 – November 27, 1945) was a German painter, member of the New Objectivity movement. Scholz was born in Wolfenbüttel and had his artistic training at the Karlsruhe Academy, where his teachers included Hans ...

and

Karl Hubbuch Karl Hubbuch (21 November 1891 – 26 December 1979) was a German painter, printmaker, and draftsman associated with the New Objectivity. Life Hubbuch was born in Karlsruhe and baptised in the Roman Catholic church. From 1908 to 1912, he studi ...

. In 1930 he co-founded the artists' magazine '' Zakpo'', together with Hubbuch and several other artists. The cover of the inaugural issue was a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone ( lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

by Spuler depicting a fantastic creature standing astride a river that runs through a city. From 1931 until his death, Spuler worked at the Majolika Manufactory in Karlsruhe. In 1933 he began his photographic series ''120 variationen über ein Gesicht'' ("120 Variations on a Face"). Around 1933–1935 he traveled to Berlin with Hubbuch. Spuler's work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

. In 1939 Spuler married Elisabeth Holzwarth. During 1939–1941 he worked as a design and graphics freelancer for UFA-Film in Berlin. He was drafted into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

in 1942, but was dismissed in 1943 for ill health. His graphic works after World War II were increasingly abstract, and often suggested images of bombed cities.Spuler, Erwin, Sylvia Bieber, Erika Rödiger-Diruf, and Ursula Merkel (2001). ''Erwin Spuler: Maler, Zeichner, Graphiker, Plastiker, Photograph, Filmemacher''. Heidelberg: Kehrer. pp. 45–47. . Spuler died in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, on 7 April 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spuler, Erwin 1906 births 1964 deaths 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists German male sculptors Olympic competitors in art competitions Artists from Augsburg