Ludwig Hohlwein

Ludwig Hohlwein was a German poster artist, a pioneer of the Sachplakat style. He trained and practiced as an architect in Munich until 1911, when he moved to Berlin and switched to poster design.

He travelled to the United States in the 1920s to conduct commercial work. A large portion of his work dates to 1912-1925. His style usually consists of sharply defined forms, bright colors, a good portion of humor and textured patterns. By 1925, he had already designed 3000 different advertisements.

During World War II, he was a member of the Nazi party and worked closely with Joseph Goebbels and The Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment. And as an ardent nationalist, indicated by his work for the government during both World Wars, he urged other artists to join the effort when Hitler came to power in 1933."May the best among us realize fully the significance of what is at stake and their own responsibility, and may we labor creatively and with conviction at the preservation of our cultural civilization and its restoration to perfectly healthy conditions.""Holhwein's posters for Nazi Germany are the most dramatic examples of National Socialist realism."His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023