Wilhelm Schmid

Biography of Wilhelm Schmid

Wilhelm Schmid, born in 1892 in Remigen and died in December 1971 near Lugano, is a Swiss painter recognized for his association with the New Objectivity movement and Magic Realism.
Wilhelm Schmid grew up in Remigen with his grandmother and aunt. After initial training as an architectural draftsman at Albert Froelich in Brugg, he emigrated to Berlin in 1912. There he worked with Peter Behrens and Bruno Paul, before becoming studio director at the office of architect Paul Renner. It was during this period that he met Maria Metz, whom he married in 1918. Schmid also founded the November Group in 1918, joining artists such as Otto Dix and Wassily Kandinsky.
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In 1923, his works such as *Pierrots lunaires* and *Puccini Butterfly* (now owned by the city of Lugano) were published. Schmid, influenced by the New Objectivity movement, moved to France in 1924 and worked in Paris and the south of France. He returned to Berlin in 1930, where he was influenced by French surrealism. In 1937, several of his paintings were classified as "degenerate art" and destroyed. Due to Nazi persecution, Schmid returned to Switzerland where he struggled to reintegrate into the Swiss art scene. Despite his difficulties, Schmid continued to create until his death in 1971. His last work, *The Heliand* (La Cena), was created for the National Art Exhibition of 1946 but was withdrawn. In 1968, he received an honorary distinction from Bré. The collection of his works was eventually transferred to the city of Lugano.
Wilhelm Schmid is recognized for his significant contributions to Swiss art and for his role in the development of Magic Realism and New Objectivity.