Comments on: Hitler's Favorite Painter (and one of mine too)

By: Wolfus

Wolfus — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I would like to add that Hitler was working under Albert Weisgerber, a well known german painter during his military service in the first world war. Weisgerber was from the town St. Ingbert in Germany, where you find a museum named after him. I do not know how much influence this had on hitler’s wish to become an artist (maybe that would have turned out better for many).

Wikipedia entry of Weisgerber (only in german):

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Weisgerber

By: AirPillo

AirPillo — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

At least Hitler had good taste in art, I suppose.

If only he’d succeeded as an artist himself, eh?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Well, since you mention it, a lot of these paintings seem to be using the color RED. You know who else likes the color red? Hmmm, could it be… SATAN? Why yes, I think it could be!

By: ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Is it so difficult to use Ã¶ instead of o in the name BÃ¶cklin?

As soon as they come out with a keyboard that shows pictures of all those little squiggly things on the tops of the keys, I’ll start using them.

By: PC

PC — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In 1945 , ‘Isle Of The Dead’ (amazing painting!) served as inspiration for Val Lewton’s film of the same nameâ€¦ check out the title card http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s5JEUW7s0E

By: Nevermore

Nevermore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I had an art teacher who would give students lower notes when a name was misspelled, even if it was “only” an Umlautâ€¦

As someone already pointed out, letters with Umlaut can be typed without them by adding an e: BÃ¶cklin = Boecklin, RÃ¤tsel = Raetsel, GrÃ¼n = Gruen etc.

WIndows: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html
Mac: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codemac.html

By: Boeotian

Boeotian — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Oh, Alma Tadema! Love him too, and brings me back…

I remember giving an ex-gf of mine an Alma Tadema box of cards as b-day present. It was really beautiful, by Phaidon Press, with his paitings on the decadence of ancient Rome and Greece. I strongly advise his work, and John William Waterhouse too.

And I agree, art lovers tend to look down on Victorian Painters and Pre-Raphaelites for some reason, never knew why. They’re really good.

By: ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Spelling counts, kids!

By: minamisan

minamisan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I had a poster of Giger’s “Isle of the Dead” on my wall for years without every knowing it was a tribute. The things you learn.

By: OoOoOo

OoOoOo — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bocklin = Symbolist
J-L David = Neo-Classical
Caspar David Friedrich = Romantic
Alma Tadema = Academic

By: jenjen

jenjen — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I first heard of Arnold BÃ¶cklin from the typeface that bears his name. It was named for him, he was not the designer, but it’s one of the classic Art Nouveau typefaces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_B%C3%B6cklin_(typeface)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Just hold down the alt key and type 0246 on the keypad.

By: OoOoOo

OoOoOo — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

He’s pretty famous actually.

By: fxru

fxru — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Is it so difficult to use ö instead of o in the name Böcklin? (Or at least use the correct oe fallback for the umlaut.) Gee, even the Japanese site has the correct name.

By: gvaine

gvaine — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bocklin is amazing.
The symbolist movement in general is my favorite and I think has a lot of parallels in the modern pop surrealist style.
If you like Bocklin, don’t miss Gustave Moreau. His studio in Paris is incredible.
A more obscure one who I didn’t see mentioned was Von Stuck. Hitler probably liked him too.

By: Fred H

Fred H — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I need a unicorn chaser after the horrifying look in that unicorn’s eye!
Thanks for the links. I know lotsa Romantic/Symbolist artists lit wise, but not so much visual. As they bounced off of each other a lot, I’m always curious to check out new stuff.

By: Tdawwg

Tdawwg — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Good catch. Val Lewton is awesome!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This kinda reminds me of Mike Mignola. Or vice versa. Either way, splendid stuff.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Striking, disturbing and sublime. I was unaware of his work. Thanks.

By: Nelson.C

Nelson.C — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“Little known”? If you say so.

By: SpigotHead

SpigotHead — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for this link, the art there is inspiring. And it also reminds me of what a great resource I live near, the Art Institute of Chicago. They have BÃ¶cklin’s original “In The Sea”, which I’ve stood and wondered at before. (Unfortunately the color on the web is way off, but still…) They also have Fuseli’s painting of Milton and his daughter, which was the subject of study in one of my classes at SAIC. Looks like I know what I’ll be doing this weekend…

By: alexrobot

alexrobot — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Another German Romantic worth looking at is Caspar David Friedrich.

By: agreenster

agreenster — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Looks like “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” totally drew reference from “Isle of the Dead.” Big time!

By: HowardsGrl

HowardsGrl — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This was news to me! I have heard of the typeface, but not the artist. While technically nice, these paintings kinda give me the heebie jeebies.

By: oasisob1

oasisob1 — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This post is its own unicow chaser.

By: John Coulthart

John Coulthart — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s not forget Otto Weisert’s Art Nouveau typeface which he named after the artist:

http://www.identifont.com/show?EX

Val Lewton had a bit of an obsession with The Isle of the Dead. As well as the film based on the painting, one of the (five) versions which BÃ¶cklin painted is featured in I Walked with a Zombie. I’ve also read that the distant views of Skull Island in the original King Kong were based on BÃ¶cklin’s picture which it does resemble a little. There’s an obsessive website devoted to the paintings and their subsequent influence:

http://www.toteninsel.net/home.php

By: greengestalt

greengestalt — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Brilliant work. The Japanese site’s not working or got a “Gajin Yoke” thing blocking traffic, but I googled other sites. I like the Isle of the Dead best, and they say there’s a fifth version that’s lost… cool!

By: piminnowcheez

piminnowcheez — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t know about famous, but at least known to people who’ve taken an art history class that covers the period in any detail. Which is not everybody. And certainly outside of art and art history circles, he’s not the subject of lots of attention. I think “little known” is a fair description assuming you’re talking about the general, or even art-interested-but-not-professional public.

I quite like Bocklin myself and didn’t know that I shared that with Hitler, which does not thrill me. But it IS (maybe?) a great, extreme example of how aesthetic tastes can be socially mediated and subject to tribal dynamics. I wonder how many professional lookers-at-art are repulsed by Monet only because Monet prints are everywhere on college dorm walls. And how, or whether, their repulsion is different from my being repulsed at the prospect that I like one of Hitler’s favorites?

By: ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I haven’t found a good book on Bocklin yet (that is in print or affordable). Up until relatively recently, a lot of “art lovers” looked down their nose on neo-classical and romantic artists. Artists that I love like Alma Tadema were outright scorned. I’m glad to hear that people are more aware of these great artists.

By: Gloria

Gloria — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Another big fan here too (and I’m an art history major who gets the full brunt of the propaganda). It’s just a matter of time; these days we’re always prattling snottily about how we love the Impressionists now and oh how short-sighted those 19th-century critics were.

A great local example is the Canadian Group of Seven, which achieved fame relatively recently — early 20th century. Back in the day, they were lambasted for painting “ugly” pictures. Today, they’re the cornerstone of Canadian art and considered pretty boring by a lot of people.