Martha Pfannenschmid

Martha Pfannenschmid (1900–1999) was a Swiss illustrator. A secretary, laboratory assistant, and technical aide at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Basel, she later became known for her illustrations for the children's books, Heidi and Pinocchio.

Early life and education Pfannenschmid was born on 22 March 1900, in Basel, Switzerland and spent most of her life in that city. Her mother was born Ida Tschumi, from Wolfisberg in the Canton of Bern. Her father, Amadeus Rudolf Pfannenschmid, came from an old Basel family and worked for the finance department of the canton of Basel-Stadt. He was the son of a well-known Basel frame maker and gilder. In his youth, he had stayed at the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany because the King of Bavaria admired his drumming skills. Pfannenschmid's elder sister died of diphtheria in 1905. She also had a brother. After her father's death in 1923, when he drowned himself in the river Rhine, her mother remarried twice more, which strained the relationship between mother and daughter. Pfannenschmid developed a talent for drawing and painting at an early age, which her father encouraged. She attended the Basel School of Applied Arts and received training in graphic design, art, and modelling. As part of her studies, she spent an extended period in Tuscany, which also influenced her later illustrations.

Career She was supported and inspired by friendships with painters such as Werner Neuhaus and Niklaus Stoecklin, along with Stoecklin's wife and daughter. Her interests included the poetic, humanistic, and scientific works of the German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and of the Austrian philosopher, Rudolf Steiner. She sketched theatrical performances staged at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. With a strong connection to Basel, she also created sketches of the Basel Carnival. Close ties to her hometown are also evident in her later illustrations.

Death Pfannenschmid died on 27 March 1999 in Basel. She was buried in the .