Rudolf Schlichter
7 albums/51 artworks – Rudolf Schlichter (1890 – 1955) was a German artist and one of the most important representatives of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement. Schlichter was born in Calw, Württemberg. After an apprenticeship as an enamel painter at a Pforzheim factory he attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Stuttgart. He subsequently studied under Hans Thoma and Wilhelm Trübner at the Academy in Karlsruhe. Called for military service in World War I, he carried out a hunger strike to secure early release, and in 1919 he moved to Berlin where he joined the Communist Party of Germany and the “November” group. He took part in a Dada fair in 1920 and also worked as an illustrator…
It always puzzled me a lot the reason for the Nazi calling “degenerate art” the BDSM works of the truly great artists Germany had the luck of giving birth, like Schlichter, when themselves inspired and practiced sadomasochistic sex and the Berlin professional ladies of that time were the ones that started the leather/boots/whips fashion that still today we follow and enjoy.
Schlichter was the one that designed those beautiful lace-up boots for his beloved that we call today “dominatrix boots” and was inspired also by the great playwright Franz Wedekind, who wrote the famous “Spring Awakening”, a play about sadomasochism (and more) between adolescents and the world-famous two-play series of “Lulu”.
Thank you so much Anton for sharing your thoughts and knowledge about Schlichter. I did not know a lot about this artist, it is always a pleasure to dive into history and get thrown back in these forgotten lives. I was so glad to discover the artworks with laced boots yesterday, they show his fascination I think.