Otto Eckmann

Otto Eckmann byLovis Corinth

Otto Eckmann(19 November 1865 – 11 June 1902) was a German painter and graphic artist. He was a prominent member of the "floral" branch ofJugendstil.He created the Eckmann typeface,which was based on Japanesecalligraphyand medieval font design.

Biography

Otto Eckmann was born in theFree and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,Germanyin 1865. He studied at theKunstgewerbeschulein Hamburg andNurembergand at the academy inMunich.In 1894, Eckmann gave up painting (and auctioned off his works) in order to concentrate onapplied design.He began producing graphic work for the magazinesPanin 1895 andJugendwhich had roughly 20,000 readers every weekin 1896. He also designed book covers for the publishersCotta,Diederichs,ScherlandSeemann,as well as thelogofor the publishing houseS. Fischer Verlag.Eckmann usedwoodblock printfor his work on Jugend magazine similar tojapanese woodblock printsand later-adapted French styles.Eckmann's work differed from others in theArt Nouveaumovement in that he used dimensionality in his designs, where most designers used a flat look Eckmann's work shows a clear background, middle-ground and foreground.

In 1897 he taught ornamental painting at theUnterrichtsanstalt des Königlichen KunstgewerbemuseumsinBerlin.In 1899, he designed the logo for the magazineDie Woche.From 1900 to 1902, Eckmann did graphic work for theAllgemeine Elektrizitätsgesellschaft(AEG). During this time, he designed the fontsEckmann(in 1900) andFette Eckmann(in 1902), probably the most common Jugendstil fonts still in use.Eckmann was also proficient in tile design and furniture design.

Eckmann died of the tuberculosis that had plagued him for years on 11 June 1902, at age 37 inBadenweiler,Germany.

Style and works

Otto Eckmann was skilled in many areas of art and design including tile, textile, embroidery, furniture, and painting. Eckmann worked as a painter from his education in 1865 to 1894 when he changed careers to focus on applied design.Few works from this time remain. Of what does remain there is pottery, painting, sculpture and textile.More works remain from after his shift to applied design. Eckmann's work as part of theArts and Crafts movement,Art Nouveau,and its German counterpart jugendstil.Much of Eckmann's work depicted swans, as well as women. The latter was common for the Art Nouveau movement, however Eckmann's love of swans was more personal but expanded to all of jugendstil, becoming a common subject of works in the movement and serving as a symbol for it. Eckmann's work has been auctioned many times with prices ranging from US$216 to US$16,250.

See also

• List of German painters
• Art Nouveau posters and graphic arts

Further reading

• Fiell, Charlotte; Fiell, Peter (2005).Design of the 20th Century(25th anniversary ed.). Köln: Taschen. p. 237.ISBN9783822840788.OCLC809539744.