Wilhelm Franz Karl Ludwig Dill (2 February 1848,

Gernsbach Gernsbach () is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, east of Baden-Baden in the Black Forest. Twin towns are Baccarat in France and Pergola, Marche in Italy. The town is the hist ...

- 24 October 1940,

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

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

Munich Secession The Munich 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 official paternalism and its conservative polic ...

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 (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

. The family moved several times, finally settling in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

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

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading 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 wit ...

), then moved to the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, 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, ...

, 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 fat ...

and

Otto Seitz Otto Seitz, was a 19th-century German painter; born 3 September 1846 in Munich. As a professor with the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, he was the mentor of many major artists. Works His primary subjects were genre scenes, floral still life and ...

. 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 (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...

) 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 ...

painting. The

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open 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 (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

. 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 Adolf Richard Hölzel (13 May 1853 – 17 October 1934) was a German painter. He began as a Realist, but later became an early promoter of various Modern styles, including Abstractionism. Biography Hölzel was born in Olmütz. His father was ...

, who ran an art school in

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

, the site of an

artists' colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

. 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 Arthur Langhammer (July 6, 1854 – July 4, 1901) was a German Impressionist painter and illustrator best known for rural genre paintings. Biography Arthur Langhammer was born in Lützen, Germany. He studied art first at the Leipzig Art Academy ...

, he founded a group called "New Dachau".

Carl Thiemann Carl Thiemann (November 10, 1881 – December 3, 1966) was a Bohemian artist and member of the Vienna Secession, best known for his color woodcuts. Life Carl Theodor Thiemann was born in Carlsbad, Bohemia, which was then part of the Austrian Emp ...

: ''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 () is an art school located in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The Academy was founded in 1854 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, with the landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer as ...

, 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 GmbH is a German chocolate manufacturer. It was founded in 1839 and expanded internationally in Europe and America, becoming the second largest producer of chocolate in the United States by 1900. Since 2011 it has belonged to Belg ...

chocolate company of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

.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 honour 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 Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet Archive, ...

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

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links