Fritz Osswald (23 June 1878 – 24 August 1966) was a Swiss painter, member of the Munich Secession and of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony.
Biography Fritz Osswald was born in Hottingen (Zürich) on 23 June 1878. The son of sculptor Albert Osswald, he spent his childhood between Zurich and Winterthur, where he attended primary school; after a few years in a boarding school in French-speaking Switzerland, he enrolled at the art institutes of Zurich and Munich. In 1897, Osswald frequented courses by Wilhelm von Diez and Nikolaos Gyzis Auktionshaus Michael Zeller, Artist index at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich,Fritz Osswald, register 1884–1920 and was awarded two medals of honour. From 1904, he was represented in Munich’s Secession exhibitions, where he encountered outstanding success, selling his first works to museums. Appreciated as an emerging artist – and compared by critics to well-established namesArticle by art critic Hans Graber on Westermann’s illustrierte deutsche Monats-Hefte magazine 58. Jahrgang – 115. Band, 2. Teil Gebundene Ausgabe – 1914 – Osswald married in 1907 Elsbeth Leopold, who gave birth to their daughter Agnes Hildegard, known as Hilla, in May of the following year. The artist travelled extensively between Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the North and Baltic seas; until, in 1913, he was invited by Ernest Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse to become a member of the artists’ colony of Darmstadt,Short biography of Fritz Osswald on Institut Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt webpage cradle and stronghold of the Jugendstil. Here Osswald, already well-known, decorated the formal reception rooms of the alta borghesia. With a private studio at his disposal inside the castle, he feverishly painted urban views, factories on the Rhine, vases of flowers, and large winter landscapes. By now at the apex of his career, the Swiss artist elicited enthusiasm in the most important German galleries – Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin, Heidelberg, Dresden. At the outbreak of the Great War, Fritz Osswald was summoned back to Switzerland to enrol for military service, from which he was afterwards discharged when he had passed the age limit. On his return to Darmstadt, he was able to take up his previously nominated position as Professor of Art. In 1919 he left the artists’ colony and departed for the outskirts of Zurich, before buying, in 1922, a large house in Starnberg, Bavaria. Here he lived with his family until his death, which passed on 24 August 1966, after years of continuous artistic production.
Works "I know that every winter morning, particularly on the coldest of days, he is out there, wearing thick mittens, painting behind the Hofgarten, or in Nymphenburg Park, or other places around Munich. His rendering of the winter scene as a symbol of our existence, where the light and icy atmosphere become a metaphor of fading life, are a particularity of his art". (Art critic Georg Biermann in Velhagen & Klasings Monatshefte magazine, 1909.)"Velhagen & Klasings Monatshefte" art magazine, no. XXVII, 1913
A post-impressionist painter, Fritz Osswald created thousands of large winter landscapes, snowy urban views and still lifes. Through intense collaboration with major art dealers like Ernst Arnold,Art dealer Ernst Arnold's profile in an article on Frankfurter Allgemeine of 8 August 1998 and galleries such as Heinemann,"Gallery Heinemann presents Fritz Osswald" Exhibition set up by "L'école des Italiens – Museo Immaginario" in Domodossola, (Italy) from May to October 2016 Thannhauser and ,The "Kunsthaus Brakl", an article by Emanuel Von Seidl for Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration magazine he achieved critical and popular acclaim until the mid-1930s. On the 50th anniversary of Osswald's death, "L'école des Italiens – Museo Immaginario" and Fondazione Poscio set up a large exhibition "Fritz Osswald – The sense of snow" in Domodossola (Italy) with over 70 paintings on show;Blogspot by art organisation "L'école des Italiens – Museo Immaginario"Interview to journalist Davide Brullo on Radiotelevisione Svizzera Italiana Italian art publishers Umberto Allemandi & C. and Mme Webb released the catalogue in Italian, German and English. The same collection was on show"Fritz Osswald – The sense of snow" Cles exhibition in Summer 2017 between July 1 and October 8, 2017 in ClesVisitors' book of the Cles exhibition (Trentino). Paintings by the Swiss artist can also be seen at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt,Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt the Starnberger See MuseumStarnberg Museum and the of Chur (Grisons, Switzerland).Osswald's paintings at the Fundaziun Capauliana
Exhibitions 1904 Munich (Secession) 1905 Zurich (Künstlerhaus) 1906 Munich (Glaspalast) 1906 Zurich (National Exhibition of Swiss Art) 1909 Le Locle (Swiss Society of Fine Arts) Catalogue of 1909 exhibition in Le Locle 1910 Dresden (Ernst Arnold gallery) 1910-1929-1936 Munich (Heinemann gallery)History of the Heinemann galleryHeinemann gallery's digital archive at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg 1921 Zurich (Kunsthaus) 1922 Munich (Thannhauser galleryDie Münchner Moderne Galerie from Sport & Salon magazine, 16 April 1910, p. 13 and Brakl) 1936 Munich (Civic gallery) 1952-1954-1956 Munich (Haus der Kunst) 1977 Darmstadt (Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe) 1979 Fürstenfeldbruck (Klostergalerie) 2006 Starnberg (Kreissparkasse and Civic gallery) 2013 Domodossola (L'école des Italiens – Museo Immaginario)"Fritz Osswald (1878–1966)" Exhibition 2016 Domodossola (Casa de Rodis)Fritz Osswald – The sense of Snow Video gallery of Domodossola exhibition ("L'école des Italiens – Museo Immaginario", Collezione Poscio), on YouTube 2016 Domodossola (L'école des Italiens – Museo Immaginario) 2017 Cles ()
Paintings Bach (bei Mittenwald) Blick vom Schneefernerhaus auf der Zugspitze Blick von Braunwald gegen Hausstock Bovalhütte Die Giumels von Preda Engadin im Winter Garmisch-Partenkirchen Kleine Tannen Matterhorn Murnau (Blick gegen Kochel) Piz Bernina und Piz Roseg Piz San Jon, 1917 Porträt einer alten Frau in Tracht, 1905 Schloss Tarasp Sellahaus mit Sassolungo Starnbergersee St. Christoph am Arlberg Tauwetter, 1910 Verschneite Parkanlage Vor dem Matterhorn Winterliche Flusslandschaft mit Birken Zugspitze, 1916
References
Additional literature Wilhelm Michel: Maler Fritz Osswald – München In: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration: illustrierte Monatshefte für moderne Malerei, Plastik, Architektur, Wohnungskunst u. künstlerisches Frauen-Arbeiten, 24/1909, Digital version Georg Biermann: Ein Münchener Maler In: Velhagen & Klasings Monatshefte, 1909 Digital version Hermann Uhde-Bernays: Fritz Osswald – München In: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration: illustrierte Monatshefte für moderne Malerei, Plastik, Architektur, Wohnungskunst u. künstlerisches Frauen-Arbeiten, 32/1913, Numerized version
See also Munich Secession Darmstadt Artists' Colony Jugendstil