Wilhelm Franz Karl Ludwig Dill (2 February 1848, Gernsbach - 24 October 1940,

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

) was a German ship and landscape painter who was a founding member of the

Munich Secession The Munich Secession (German language, German Münchener Secession) was an association of visual artists who broke away from the mainstream Munich Artists' Association in 1892, to promote and defend their art in the face of what they considered ...

Life and work

He was the only son of the Tax Assessor (later a Magistrate) for the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. The family moved several times, finally settling in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

in 1862. Beginning in 1872, he studied architecture at the Polytechnic Institute (now the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

), then moved to the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

, in 1874, where he studied under

Karl Theodor von Piloty Karl Theodor von Piloty (1 October 1826 – 21 July 1886) was a German painter, noted for his historical subjects, and recognised as the foremost representative of the realistic school in Germany. Life and work Piloty was born in Munich. His fath ...

and Otto Seitz. He was, however, more influenced by the landscapes of Adolf Heinrich Lier and decided to pursue that speciality himself. He did a great deal of travelling and the area around Venice (especially

Chioggia Chioggia (; , ; ) is a coastal town and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is located on a small island at the southern entrance to the Venetian Lagoon about sou ...

) became one of his favorites for

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

painting. The

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

nature of the land and seascapes eventually led him to a sort of ornamental stylization, approaching

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. He later became a founding member of the

and served as its President from 1894 to 1899. Of particular importance to his career was his friendship with Adolf Hölzel, who ran an art school in

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

, the site of an

artists' colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...

. The area, with its many moors and watercourses, was instantly attractive to Dill. In 1896, he bought a small house there on a street which has since been named after him. Together with Hölzel and Arthur Langhammer, he founded a group called "New Dachau". Carl Thiemann: ''Erinnerungen eises Dachauer Malers'', Dachau In 1899, he accepted a teaching position at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe The State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe or is an academy of arts in Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany. History The Academy was founded in 1854 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, with the landscape painter Johann ...

, and remained there until 1919, spending his summers in Dachau. He also served on one of the committees that selected artists to provide designs for the

Stollwerck Stollwerck Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH is a German chocolate manufacturer based in Norderstedt. It was founded in 1839 and expanded internationally in Europe and America, becoming the second largest producer of chocolate in t ...

chocolate company of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

.Lorenz, Detlef: ''Reklamekunst um 1900. Künstlerlexikon für Sammelbilder'', Reimer-Verlag (2000) His first wife died in 1905. Four years later, he married the painter , who had recently been widowed. In 1936, he became an

Honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Dachau.

References

External links

ArtNet: Seventeen pages of paintings by Dill

''Neu-Dachau'' by Arthur Roeßler
from the

Open Library Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dill, Ludwig 1848 births 1940 deaths People from Gernsbach German landscape painters 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists Painters from Stuttgart University of Stuttgart alumni Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links