Carl Schmitz-Pleis

Carl Schmitz-Pleis, originally Karl Schmitz (21 September 18771943) was a German painter.

Life and work He was born in Hennef. He studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Johann Peter Theodor Janssen, Eduard von Gebhardt and . At first, he signed his works with his birth name, but later adopted "Carl Schmitz-Pleis" as a more distinctive artistic pseudonym. The "Pleis" was taken from , near Königswinter, where his older brother Heinrich lived with his family. Carl was a frequent visitor there.

In 1907 and 1908, together with , , Walter Ophey and , among others, he helped to create "Niederrhein" (Lower Rhine), a progressive artists' association. In the Spring of 1910, he and several other members of the group travelled to Italy, with the goal of "capturing nature in the sunlight". From 1913 to 1928, he was a member of Malkasten, another progressive association.

He took part in numerous large art exhibitions, at the and the , as well as organizing the annual exhibitions held by Niederrhein. In his later years, he rarely left Düsseldorf; dying unmarried, childless, and apparently forgotten, in 1943. His works can be seen at the Museum Kunstpalast and the in Wuppertal.