100 Years of Illustration

Ludwig Hohlwein: An Appreciation

This is my favorite Hohlwein. Click on the image to enlarge it. I love it because of the design of the piece and the exquisite illustration, the restraint he used in dropping in the bright blue highlights in the hair. I don't think design and illustration can compliment each other much better than this does. Published in the period 1906 to 1914, it is a remarkable piece for that time.

Even when Hohlwein was given a mundane assignment, Man at Portable Typewriter, for example, his mastery of watercolor transcends the banality of the layout that is made further chaotic with the insert of product, no doubt at the insistence of a sales manager. Hohlwein's handling of it proves his disdain.

This is so good that it's almost reckless. This is from a much later period, from 1920 to 1926 and it's done with a much more loose technique than the Riquetta poster, above, or Gipsy, below.

A beer poster from the early 1920s. The design and illustration are harmonious and powerful without being overbearing. The simplicity of a highly developed style leaves much to the imagination of the viewer and consequently increases the interest and appreciation of a splendid poster.

One of his most popular posters, it is also a masterful combination of design and illustration. The distinct hand-lettering that also identifies so much of Hohlwein's work is perfect for its time and place, so avant garde without detracting from the illustration.

I'll end this homage to the master with this very fine portrait. Ludwig Hohlwein's characters are rendered so human and without artifice that we have no doubt we have seen them somewhere in the flesh.

Ludwig Hohlwein: and Norman Rockwell as model?

Poster for Springtime in Wiesbaden circa 1920-1926. (Click on image to enlarge.) Hohlwein was born there, in the Rhine-Main region of Germany, though he and his work are associated with Munich and Bavaria in southern Germany. There were two schools of Gebrauchsgrafik in Germany at the time, North and South. In the north, the great designer and illustrator was Lucian Bernhard, whose poster for a 1931 auto show appears below.

Bernhard's style is totally different.

Click on this Mercedes poster of the period (1920-1926) to enlarge it. In this, and prior examples, Hohlwein's work seems to be dependent more and more on photographic images. However, he takes his adaptations to another level seeming to know when to let go of any hold the photo may have of him. His leaving images to the imagination of the viewer and creative use of color dispels any suggestion that he might be just another illustrator who uses photos as a crutch. (That's a term we used to hear a lot of fifty years ago until photographic realism just about destroyed tasteful illustration -- and much of gallery painting as well.)

A lavender bus? I can't believe the colors he used here. The background is very similar to a technique art directors used for sketches to show clients for approvals. Hohlwein has rendered the Mercedes and the bus in a sketchy technique rarely seen in the U.S.A. to sell automotive products. This is from the period between wars, 1920-1926, when Hohlwein was enjoying great popularity. The style also indicates a simple, quick solution to honor as many commitments as possible.

In this poster the technique is much more deliberate but it still achieved with a great deal of restraint. I l have always had the feeling that Hohlwein used a photo of Norman Rockwell for the subject. Circa 1925.

This photographic profile of Norman Rockwell, albeit taken late in his life, bears an uncanny resemblance to the profile in Hohlwein's illustration.

Were these two great icons of illustration aware of each other? Most certainly. Hohlwein had an exhibition in New York in 1923. Perhaps they visited and corresponded with each other. At the very least, I would like to think that Hohlwein was paying homage to his American colleague with the very famous profile.

Ludwig Hohlwein: Reliance on Photography?

Continuing with the English translation, we read: "When our artist informs us that he has never had a single pupil, and that he employs no assistants, since all of his patrons have the right to demand an honest original, then our amazement and admiration know no end. It was no light task to carry out unaided every commission from A to Z during all these years, and bring each to a happy conclusion by virtue of his own right hand. It was alone his love of his work, his devotion and fidelity to his work, which gave the Hohlwein poster that degree of perfection which has placed it in the very center of universal interest and universal demand. Nor need we believe for a moment that the creator of these superb designs simply shakes them out of his sleeves in complete, ready-made series. Hohlwein, on the contrary, works almost invariably from a model. . . ." Illustration circa 1910.

The text continues, "He first prepares a drawing which follows Nature [sic] faithfully, sometimes making use of photographic studies to this end. And only after these preliminary sketches does he proceed to evolve a decorative design as a basis for the work at hand."

I have put that text in bold face because I think that Hohlwein made extensive use of "photographic studies" as these examples suggest. The lighting of the subjects in these posters from the period 1914-1920, and the one above from around 1910, show features that could only have been lighted in direct sunlight or from tungsten lamps. The lighting and shadows form patterns peculiar to photographic prints. Compare these patterns of light with the illustrations of Sarah Stilwell and Edward Penfield in prior posts.

It seems improbable that Hohlwein would want to make his drawings in direct sunlight, even if he worked under an umbrella or in adjacent shade. While it's possible to paint brightly lit landscapes, it would be very uncomfortable attempting to paint such expressive illustrations from live models. Of course it could be done, but why bother? Especially when photos were already relied on by illustrators everywhere to record facial expressions, accurate body movements and gestures, folds, patterns, and textures in clothing and decor.

An enlarged image of the monk's head. Could it be that Hohlwein had no pupils or assistants because he wanted to keep his technique secret? My mentor, Harold Smith, was very generous with tips, suggestions, and advice, but I knew of other illustrators who covered up their work when strangers entered their studios unannounced and would never explain how they did things. They were–and are–much like cooks who refuse to share recipes.

Ludwig Hohlwein: Introduction

This is the famous Hohlwein signature that appeared on just about all his work. The umlaut over the u in München (Munich in English) is connected by a double slash to his name. Of course it looks like a Z and I have no idea why he chose it. It is discussed in the book Ludwig Hohlwein, (by Professor H.K. Frenzel, with an introduction by Dr. Walter F. Schubert, and translated by Herman George Scheffauer, and published in Berlin in 1926 by Phonix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag. The illustrations which follow are from the book.)

I don't know if it is the fault of the translation, which is almost as unintelligible as computer translation, or the ponderous obfuscation of German academia of the time, but to quote from the text:

"It goes without saying that this . . . like dozens of other original conceits of Hohlwein's, was seized upon by the petty pirates of advertising art, watered and botched and ruined. This passion for imitating the inimitable even went so far as attempts to ape the characteristic signature of the great Munich artist, that is, the two diagonal lines which run from the 'ü' in the word München and which connect the personal name with the place name. . . .

"But these poor-spirited imitators who clung to his heels everywhere, never felt a single trace of the essence and spirit of the master. The Hohlwein style may, of course, be copied like all others, that is, up to a certain degree, but the mystery of its great and magic power of attracting, which carries even the sober Briton and in a still greater degree the American along with it, remains a sealed book to them."

Well, it's nice to know where we stood in the great scheme of things. Speaking of books, the signature reproduced above was scanned directly from the hotstamped foil of the cloth binding.

This is a photograph from the book pages printed in gravure. Ludwig Hohlwein was born on 26 July 1874 in Wiesbaden, Germany, into a patrician family. After a privileged childhood he pursued the study of architecture, and we are told that he avoided recreational student drinking in favor of sports such as horseback riding and hunting. His study of architecture was soon dismissed in favor of illustration.

These magnificent examples of design and illustration are living proof of Hohlwein's prodigious talent. Click on the bear for an enlarged view.

These posters were published between 1906 and 1914. Berchtesgaden is a famous German Alpine resort where Adolf Hitler created his infamous "Eagle's Nest." Many expected it to be the final redoubt of the Third Reich until it was learned that Hitler had committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.