Otto Lohmüller
Encyclopedia
Otto Lohmüller is a German figurative
painter, sculptor and book illustrator. His art typically features images of early adolescent
males, both clothed and nude, although in his published work there is little overt eroticism
.
He works almost exclusively with the human form, usually with minimal backgrounds, in an idealized near-photographic realist style. In addition to boys, his portraits and sculpture include people of all ages from his town, people from his travels to India
and Southeast Asia, and occasionally public figures. Some of his works contain subtle political or societal commentary, although this is not a major theme. Occasionally he indulges in wryly humorous works of fantasy, but is primarily a representational artist. His published works are listed in the Catalog of the German National Library.
. His artist interests at the time included the sculptures and frescoes of Michelangelo
, as well as classical Greek works
, and the Boy Scouts illustration work of Pierre Joubert
. In 1960 he moved to Paris, where he continued to study art independently. In 1961 he began an apprenticeship in Offenburg
as a printer, and took an interest in the work of Caravaggio
.
In 1965 he met Ute Wissing, whom he married four years later. The couple lived in Munich
, Offenburg, and then Gengenbach, where their first son David was born in 1975. He began working in sculpture, and exhibiting his work to the public. Their second son Adrian was born in 1977. In 1978 he published a small art pamphlet Otto Lohmüller - portraits and acts from in 1972-1977.
Since 1982 he has illustrated songbooks, publications of poems, and books for the local Boy Scouts. In 1984 he joined the Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur
(German Association for Free Body Culture). He founded the publishing company Zeus Press to produce art volumes of his work.
He became a Boy Scout leader, and illustrated and wrote travel reports of the "Tempelritter" (Temple Knight) troup. In 1989 he joined the Comité pour la Promotion du Scoutisme en Europe (Committee for the Promotion of Scouting in Europe), becoming a vice-president of the organization.
Figure painting
Figure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
painter, sculptor and book illustrator. His art typically features images of early adolescent
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
males, both clothed and nude, although in his published work there is little overt eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
.
He works almost exclusively with the human form, usually with minimal backgrounds, in an idealized near-photographic realist style. In addition to boys, his portraits and sculpture include people of all ages from his town, people from his travels to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Southeast Asia, and occasionally public figures. Some of his works contain subtle political or societal commentary, although this is not a major theme. Occasionally he indulges in wryly humorous works of fantasy, but is primarily a representational artist. His published works are listed in the Catalog of the German National Library.
Biography
Lohmüller was born in Gengenbach in 1943, where he grew up. In 1952 he joined the Boy ScoutsBoy Scouts
A Boy Scout is a member of a Scouting organization. There are thousands of national Scouting organizations or federations; these are grouped into six international Scouting associations with some non-aligned organizations....
. His artist interests at the time included the sculptures and frescoes of Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, as well as classical Greek works
Art in Ancient Greece
The arts of ancient Greece have exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries all over the world, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models...
, and the Boy Scouts illustration work of Pierre Joubert
Pierre Joubert (illustrator)
Pierre Joubert was a French illustrator. He was closely associated with the creation of Scouting and the popular look of Boy Scouts in France and Belgium, comparable to the American artist Norman Rockwell.-Biography:...
. In 1960 he moved to Paris, where he continued to study art independently. In 1961 he began an apprenticeship in Offenburg
Offenburg
Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city and the capital of the Ortenaukreis.Offenburg also houses University of Applied Sciences Offenburg...
as a printer, and took an interest in the work of Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
.
In 1965 he met Ute Wissing, whom he married four years later. The couple lived in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Offenburg, and then Gengenbach, where their first son David was born in 1975. He began working in sculpture, and exhibiting his work to the public. Their second son Adrian was born in 1977. In 1978 he published a small art pamphlet Otto Lohmüller - portraits and acts from in 1972-1977.
Since 1982 he has illustrated songbooks, publications of poems, and books for the local Boy Scouts. In 1984 he joined the Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur
Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur
The Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur is an organization based in Hannover, Germany, founded on November 6, 1949 to promote the interests of naturists in Germany...
(German Association for Free Body Culture). He founded the publishing company Zeus Press to produce art volumes of his work.
He became a Boy Scout leader, and illustrated and wrote travel reports of the "Tempelritter" (Temple Knight) troup. In 1989 he joined the Comité pour la Promotion du Scoutisme en Europe (Committee for the Promotion of Scouting in Europe), becoming a vice-president of the organization.
Books by Lohmüller
- Bildnisse und Akte 1972-1977 (Zeus Press, 1978) (30 pages, 46 illus., 22cm)
- Ich sag ja / I say yes / Je dis oui. Porträt- und Aktzeichnungen von Jungen (Zeus Press, 1985) (69 pages, 32 full-page drawings, portraits & nude studies of boys, 31cm)
- Species Knabe: Aktskizzen (Zeus Press, 1986) (63 full-pages illus., 24cm)
- Kalos: Gemälde. (Zeus Press, 1987) (73 full-page col. illus. of paintings - portraits & figure studies - dating from 1973-86 of boys aged 8-14 & 13 pages of sketches.
- Kalos II (84 pages, 82 illus, 30cm)
- Faces (1990), portraits of people from the Black ForestBlack ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
region, as well as of other lands and continents.