Otto Wilhelm Sohn-Rethel (1877–1949) German

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...

and a painter of the

Düsseldorf school of painting The Düsseldorf school of painting is a term referring to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy (now the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or Düsseldorf State Art Academy) during the 1830s and 1840s, when the A ...

art movement. Sohn-Rethel was a member of the art groups, Sonderbund group and

Young Rhineland Young Rhineland (Das Junge Rheinland) was an association of avant-garde artists formed in Düsseldorf on 24 February 1919. History The poet Herbert Eulenberg was one of the main instigators of the group, along with painter Arthur Kaufmann and ...

. The prominent theme of his art was always young men, and frequently they were nude.

Life and work

Otto Wilhelm Sohn-Rethel was born on 18 January 1877 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Germany. He was the second son to artists

Karl Rudolf Sohn Karl Friedrich Rudolf Sohn (21 July 1845, Düsseldorf – 29 August 1908, Düsseldorf) was a German portrait painter in the Academic style. Biography His father was the landscape painter, Karl Ferdinand Sohn. After graduating from the , he w ...

and

Else Sohn-Rethel Elisabeth "Else" Johanna Martha Maria Sohn-Rethel (14 March 1853 – 22 January 1933) was a German painter and singer, active in the mid and late 19th-century. Biography Elisabeth Johanna Martha Maria Rethel was born 14 March 1853 in Rome, I ...

. He was given the name "Otto Wilhelm" after his great uncles, the painters and

Wilhelm Sohn Johann August Wilhelm Sohn (29 August 1829, in Berlin – 16 March 1899, in Pützchen, near Bonn) was a German genre painter and art professor. Life Johann August Wilhelm Sohn was born 29 August 1829, in Berlin, Germany. In 1847, he went to ...

. In the summer of 1883, Sohn-Rethel's interest in butterflies began in-part because of his uncle, Erich Hettner (1868–1933). Starting in 1890, he studied at

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...

(Düsseldorf Art Academy) under artists Heinrich Lauenstein, Hugo Crola, and Adolf Schill. Followed by study at

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 number a ...

in Paris. He was a member of the

Deutscher Künstlerbund The Deutscher Kuenstlerbund (Association of German Artists) was founded in 1903 the initiative of Count Harry Kessler, promoter of arts and artists, Alfred Lichtwark, director of the Hamburg Art Gallery and the famous painters Lovis Corinth, Ma ...

(Association of German Artists). Besides painting, he was a

and studied and collected butterfly and moth species between 1902 and 1912. One of which was the moth subspecies named after him, ''

Chortodes morrisii ''Chortodes morrisii'', or Morris's wainscot, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in western and southern Europe. In Britain it is limited to Devon and Dorset, while the form ''bondii'', previously occurring in Kent Kent is a co ...

sohnretheli''. In 1902, Sohn-Rethel started his travels in Rome, followed by

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with ...

, and finally in 1904 to

Anacapri Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)http://www.capritourism.com/imgg/download/capri_map_en.pdf —the Anc ...

a city on the island of Capri. His wealth allowed him to live in Capri, a place that was known as a gay community at the time. He painted portraits and figure studies, many of nude men once here. One of his students during this period was the young Italian artist, Giovanni Tessitore. He maintained a studio in Rome. In the winter of 1903–1904 he sublet his Rome studio

Villa Strohl-Fern The ''Villa Strohl Fern'' is a semi-urban Neo-Gothic architecture, Neo-Gothic-style, palace, or casino, and gardens erected in the late 19th century on the grounds of the Villa Borghese in Rome. It is known for having housed and provided studios fo ...

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

. In 1906, he met up in Rome with his brother Karli, his brother-in-law

Werner Heuser Werner Heuser (1880–1964) was a German painter, engraver, drafter, and professor. He had been a professor of art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Art Academy) from 1926 until 1937, and he was removed from his position by the ...

, and artists

Karl Hofer Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or ''Carl Hofer'' (11 October 1878, Karlsruhe – 3 April 1955, Berlin) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most prominent painters of expressioni ...

, Hermann Haller and

Maurice Sterne Maurice Sterne ( lv, Moriss Šterns, 1877 or 1878 – July 23, 1957), was an American sculptor and painter remembered today for his association with philanthropist Mabel Dodge Luhan, to whom he was married from 1916 to 1923. Biography Stern ...

. In 1909, Otto Sohn-Rethel joined the Sonderbund group with other Düsseldorf painters, which included Julius Bretz,

Max Clarenbach Max Clarenbach (19 May 1880 – 9 July 1952) was a German painter. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics. References External links * 1880 births 1952 deaths 20th-cen ...

August Deusser August Deusser (15 February 1870, in Cologne – 28 October 1942, in Konstanz) was a German painter and art professor, at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Life and work From 1892 to 1897, he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf; finishing ...

Walter Ophey Walter Hugo Ophey (25 March 1882 – 11 January 1930) was a German painter and graphic designer, known for Rhenish Expressionism. He was a member of the Sonderbund group and Young Rhineland art groups. Biography Walter Hugo Ophey was born o ...

, Wilhelm Schmurr, and his brothers

Karli Sohn-Rethel Carl Ernst "Karli" Sohn-Rethel (1882 – 1966) German Modernist painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting art movement. He traveled often and was active in Düsseldorf, Munich, Rome, Positano, Paris, among other places. Sohn-Rethel was a me ...

and

Alfred Sohn-Rethel Alfred Sohn-Rethel (4 January 1899 – 6 April 1990) was a French-born German Marxian economist and philosopher especially interested in epistemology. His main intellectual achievement was the publication of ''Intellectual and Manual Labour: A C ...

. In 1919, Sohn-Rethel joined the art group,

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Sohn-Rethel served in the war and was stationed in Düsseldorf. During this time he painted the wounded soldiers and would provide precise descriptions and images. After the war he settled in

, Italy, and lived at Villa Lina. Villa Lina became a meeting place for the expatriate community including his nephew

, writer

Norman Douglas George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel '' South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing. ...

, among others. He died on 7 June 1949 in Anacapri, Italy, where he is buried.

Selected works

File:Wilhelm Sohn, gemalt von Otto Sohn-Rethel 1893.jpg, ''Portrait of

'', (1893) File:Otto Sohn-Rethel nude boys with boat Anacapri 1934.jpg, ''Nude Boys with a Boat at Anacapri'', (1934) File:Otto Sohn-Rethel untitled, Papier auf Holz 100x100cm.jpg, ''Resurrection'', (1905),
paper on wood File:Otto Sohn-Rethel der Kopf des Johannes unfertige Buntstiftezeichnung.jpg, ''The Head of Johannes'', (c. 1907), colored pencil drawing

References

External links

Artist: Otto Sohn-Rethel
in European Paintings and Drawings 1905–1915, Database of Modern Exhibitions (DoME), Institute for Art History at

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sohn-Rethel, Otto 1877 births 1949 deaths Artists from Düsseldorf Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni German male painters German lepidopterists Queer artists Académie Julian alumni