Ludwig Dettmann

Ludwig Julius Christian Dettmann (25 July 1865 – 19 November 1944) was a German Impressionist painter. Shortly before his death, he was added to the Gottbegnadeten list, a roster of artists considered crucial to Nazi culture.

Biography Dettmann was born in the Prussian town of Adelby, now a part of Flensburg. His father was a customs officer who was transferred to Hamburg while Ludwig was still a small child. After some studies at a local arts and crafts school, he transferred to the Prussian Academy of Arts, where he studied with Eugen Bracht and Franz Skarbina. He originally worked as an illustrator.

After 1891, he was a teacher at the drawing and painting school of the Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen". In 1894, he won a small gold medal at the "", a major annual event that ran from 1893 to 1969. (He would win a large gold medal there in 1909).

Under the influence of Max Liebermann, he turned to landscape painting in oils and watercolors. His first major project consisted of four murals at the town hall in Altona, depicting the city's history.

After Hitler seized power, Dettmann joined the Nazi Party and served on the board of the "" (Reich Association of Visual Artists). He would remain a party member until his death. In 1935, he was awarded the "Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft" and was chairman of the "" for the year 1936–37.

Selected paintings