 |
| Self Portrait 1892 |
Fritz Erler (15 December 1868 – 11 December 1940) was a German painter, graphic designer and scenic designer. Although most talented as an interior designer, he is perhaps best remembered for several propaganda posters he produced during World War 1.
He was born in Frankenstein,(Schlesien). Beginning in 1886 he studied under Albrecht Bräuer at the school of art in Breslau. He also attended the Académie Julian in Paris. In 1895 he moved to Munich and lived from 1918 in Holzhausen am Ammersee. His first designs date from 1893: vases, glass windows, book covers, later furniture, theatrical sets, and interior decorations. In 1896 he was a founding member of the magazine “Legend.” He also painted several portraits around the start of the 20th century, most notably of Richard Strauss and Gerhart Hauptmann.
Along with Arthur Kampf, Erler was one of the official military painters for the Oberste Heeresleitung. His paintings were commissioned as war propaganda.
 |
| 1917 Helft uns siegen! (Help us win!) lithograph on paper 56.4 x 44 cm |
The promotional poster for the sixth war bond (sechste Kriegsanleihe) was adorned with his painting Helft uns siegen! (1917), perhaps Erler's best-known work. It brought in at least 13.1 million marks more than any other campaign. Its power of moral exhortation has been compared to James Montgomery Flagg’s iconic poster of Uncle Sam, while the idea ultimately derives from the influential “Lord Kitchener Wants You” poster of 1914. A soldier, his face darkened from the muck of the trenches, gazes beyond the viewer into No Man’s Land with eyes that shine as if from an inward light. This heroic image depicts the widespread contemporary belief that trench warfare would somehow be a morally cleansing experience.
This is part 1 of a 3-part series on the works of Fritz Erler:
 |
| 1891 The mother oil on wood panel 67.5 x 75 cm Private Collection |
 |
| 1892 Sheet with life studies and caricatures pen and black ink and wash 20 x 31.4 cm Minneapolis Institute of Art Collection, Minnesota |
 |
| 1893 Lotus (details not found) |
 |
| 1896 Jugend Nr.1 and 2 colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1896 Jugend Nr. 18: 2 May issue colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1896 Jugennd: design for a cover watercolour & pen 48 x 36.5 cm Munich City Museum |
 |
| 1897 Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration book ( German Art and Decoration book) |
 |
| 1897 Jugend Nr. 11: 13 March colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1897 Jugend Nr. 20 : May 15 issue two-colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1898 Jugend Nr. 4: 22 January two-colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1898 Jugend Nr. 14: April 2 issue Sleeping Beauty illustration |
 |
| 1898 Jugend Nr. 16: April 16 issue lithograph cover |
 |
| 1898 Artwork for Jugend Nr. 26: June 25 issue (details not found) |
 |
| 1898 Jugend Nr. 29: July 16 issue C two-colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1899 Jugend Nr. 5: January 28 issue colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1900 Die Halbinsel (The Peninsular) magazine colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1900 Woman in a park by a fountain oil on canvas 100 x 119 cm |
 |
| c1900 The Snowy Rax Alps oil on rough canvas 74 x 111 cm |
 |
| 1901 Homestead in Behamberg, Lower Austria oil on cardboard 37.5 x 47.5 cm |
 |
| 1901 Hydra combination print on thin cardboard 39 x 28.8 cm |
 |
| 1902 Portrait of Elise Hirth (Frau Dr. Georg Hirth) (details not found) |
Albert Neisser and his wife Toni were art lovers and patrons. The Villa Neisser was richly endowed with art treasures and cultural centre of the city of Wroclaw. For friends of the couple included the architect Hans Poelzig, the sculptor Theodor von Gosen, the composers Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, the writer and Nobel Prize laureate Gerhart Hauptmann and the painter Eugen Spiro. In the villa were numerous works of art, the artist Fritz and Erich Erler, among them the portraits of the couple Toni and Albert Neisser and famous guests of the villa.
 |
| c1903 Solstice Celebration mural in Villa Albert Neisser Wroclaw, Poland |
 |
| c1903 Portrait of a woman oil on cardboard 58 x 37 cm |
 |
| 1904 Portrait of Prince Hermann von Hatzfeldt, Duke of Trachenberg oil on canvas 128 x 120 cm National Gallery of the State Museums in Berlin |
 |
| 1905 Portrait of Privy Councillor Toni Neisse: wife of Albert Neisser (details not found) |
 |
| 1905 Jugend No.2 colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1905 from Die Jugend colour lithograph on paper 27.5 x 20 cm |
 |
| 1905 Allegory of Spring oil and tempera on canvas 147 x 108 cm |
 |
| 1905-07 Portrait of Olga Erler oil on canvas 45.8 x 35.5 cm |
 |
| 1906 Autumn mood (details not found) |
 |
| 1906 Jugend No.1 colour lithograph cover |
 |
| 1906 Jugend Nr. 5 The Strangers story illustration colour lithograph |
 |
| 1906 Noah book illustration, Boston Public Library, MA |
 |
| c1907 Lady with a dog oil on canvas 76 x 50 cm |
 |
| 1907 Portrait Prof. Dr. Albert Neißer-Breslau (details not found) |
 |
| 1907 Portrait of Olga Erler oil on canvas 45.8 x 35.5 cm |
 |
| 1907 Munich Stranger oil study on cardboard 52 x 33 cm |
 |
| 1907 Modern Diana (details not found) |
 |
| 1907 Lady in red oil on wood panel 188 x 157.5 cm |
 |
| 1908 Tapestry for the Goldsmiths' Hall at the Munich exhibition in 1908 |
 |
| 1908 Tapestry for the Goldsmiths' Hall detail |
 |
| 1908 Portrait of the sculptor Theodor von Gosen (details not found) |
Erler was commissioned in 1908 to create two monumental works for the carnival celebrations of the Neuer Verein in Munich. In addition to the painting Der Goldregen, the approximately two metres by two metres Schwarze Pierrot (Black Pierrot) was also created with a frame that Erler probably designed too.
 |
| 1908 Black Pierrot oil on canvas 206 x 198 cm |
