I remember when I was little and someone explained to me about stocks and how sometimes they did this amazing thing called a split because they had become so valuable.  Likewise, when I posted a couple of random postcard images, the response was amazing and now I feel there has been so much supplemental information that this artist and those in the previous post (Pierre et Gilles) deserve their own separate posts.

The following image is a painting by Otto Lohmüller and when researching this artist, I was amazed to discover that he drew and painted mostly boys—both clothed and nude. However, there are a few charming examples of girls as in this image and another I found online. I do confess that after studying this image, I pick up a bit of gender ambiguity—not so much in the subject’s physical appearance but in her attitude.  The Russian title for this piece was “France” so I am assuming at the moment that this piece was done during the artist’s short time in France.

Otto Lohmüller – Gaelle

Otto Lohmüller was born in Gengenbach, Germany in 1943. (I’ve noted many times how 1943 seemed an auspicious year for artists—most notably Graham Ovenden and Robert Crumb.) He was a figurative painter, sculptor and book illustrator featuring mainly images of early adolescent males. Apart from the examples presented here, his portraits and sculptures included people of all ages from his town, from his travels to India and Southeast Asia and a few public figures. Lohmüller joined the the Boy Scouts in 1952 and his artistic interests at the time included Michelangelo, classical Greek works and the Boy Scouts illustrations of Pierre Joubert. After living in Paris for a short time, he began an apprenticeship in Offenburg in 1961 as a printer, and took an interest in Caravaggio. He began working on sculpture in the 1970s and eventually returned to his hometown with his wife and two sons. Since then, he has illustrated songbooks, publications of poems, and books for the local Boy Scouts—an organization with which he became devoted. In 1984 he joined the Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur (FKK, German Association for Free Body Culture). Lohmüller like so many before him has received grief for his portrayal of nude adolescents. This illustrates not only the ignorance and intolerance of law enforcement—this time German—but that having strong personal relationships with the models and their families means that they become vehement defenders of the artist in court.  He founded the publishing company Zeus Press to produce art volumes of his work and his published works are listed in the Catalog of the German National Library.

Otto Lohmüller – (title unknown)

As always, if anyone can provide proper titles and/or dates to these works of art, the effort would be much appreciated.

Otto Lohmüller (Wikipedia)

Friends of Otolo (official Lohmüller fansite and museum)