Heinrich Danioth (1896–1953) was a

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and poet.

Early life

Heinrich Danioth was born on 1 May 1896 in Altdorf, Switzerland. In 1912, he received some of his basic artistic training in the

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studio of fellow artist Rudolf Löw, as well as taking evening courses at the local commercial school.

Career

His career began in 1916 when he started work in the Vaterhaus in Altdorf as a freelance artist in his personal studio. After some time in

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, he gave up a position as a church painter in Upper Valais in 1919 "for artistic reasons of conscience". Throughout 1920-21, he attended the master class of the German expressionist

August Babberger August Babberger (8 December 1885 – 3 September 1936) was a German painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics. References 1885 births 1936 deaths 20th-century German pai ...

at the Baden State Art School in

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. Babberger’s work would prove to have a profound influence on his own. He returned to his native Switzerland in 1927, where he began to introduce Expressionism to the

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. In 1929, he took up residence in Flüelen, and in 1931, built his own residential and studio house above

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. He would work at this location for the rest of his life.

Notable works

Paintings

Some of Danioth’s most notable works include the murals, "Tellsprung" and "Rütlischwur", on the walls of the Tellspielhaus, an Altdorf theatre, in 1927. He painted the mural “Fundamentum” in 1936. It is currently located at the Federal Letter Museum, one of three historical museums in

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, Switzerland. Another notable work is the large-format mural "Föhnwacht", created on behalf of the Federal Art Commission. A sculptor named

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initiated the project after calls to decorate the waiting hall of the new SBB station in Flüelen. It took a year for Danioth to design it, as he searched for a suitable topic. Both the new station and the mural were inaugurated in November 1944. It is displayed there to this day. He is also known for the image of the devil and the goat on the rock face above the Schöllenen. It was re-attached to a new location when the new cantonal road was built (ca. 1958).

Poetry

Danioth was also active in writing. In addition to detailed diaries, he wrote compilations of short and often humorous verses. Towards the end of his life, purely literary texts were created. Danioth’s most famous poetry work is the "Urner Krippenspiel" from 1945. In 1951, he wrote the radio play ''The Sixth of the Seven Days''. As a result, he was posthumously awarded the Radio Prize of Central Switzerland.

Personal life

Danioth married Hedi Weber in 1932. He had two children, Madeleine and Cilly.

Death

Heinrich Danioth died on 3 November 1953, after a failed operation to remove a

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Legacy

The works of Danioth were shown at the Kunstmuseum Luzern from 17 October—24 November 1954. The Swiss director Felice Zenoni portrayed Heinrich Danioth's life and work in ''Danioth the Devil Painter'' (German: ''Danioth: Der Teufelsmaler''), a documentary film starring actor Hanspeter Müller-Drossaart as Danioth. The film was released in Switzerland on January 15, 2015.

References

*''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Danioth, Heinrich 20th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 1896 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Swiss male artists