Eduard Thöny
Eduard Thöny (9 February 1866 - 26 July 1950) was a German caricaturist and illustrator known for his work for the journal Simplicissimus, to which he was invited to contribute by Albert Langen.[1] Born in Brixen, he studied at the arts academy in Munich.[2] His work for Simplicissimus included more than 2,500 pages of cartoons used to lampoon German society and the military.[2] Thöny's drawings would appear in the journal until it ceased publication in 1944.[1]
![](../I/Eduard_Th%C3%B6ny%252C_gezeichnet_von_Th._Th._Heine.jpg.webp)
In 1904 Thöny traveled to Marseilles, Algiers, Tunis, Naples and Rome in company with fellow artists Ludwig Thoma and Rudolf Wilke.[2]
In 1906 Thöny, along with Olaf Gulbransson, Thoma, and Wilke, persuaded Langen to convert Simplicissimus into a joint stock company, thereby giving more power to the staff to control the journal's direction.[1]
The period of National Socialism
Thöny was a highly esteemed artist during the Nazi era. He received honors and awards. In 1933, he was made an honorary member of the Munich Art Academy and on April 20,[3] 1938, Adolf Hitler appointed him professor, an honorary title without office or salary. In 1941, he received the Goethe Medal for Art and Science.[4] He was represented with a total of 38 works at the Great German Art Exhibitions at the Munich Haus der Deutschen Kunst, including the oil painting Westwallarbeiter and the color chalk drawing Tiroler Bauern in 1940, and the oil painting Waffen-SS im Einsatz in 1943.[5] In the final phase of World War II, Hitler included him in the Gottbegnadeten list in August 1944. He was also a member of the German National Council.[6]
References
- "Eduard Thony". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- Eduard Thöny Biography
- Ehrenmitglieder der Akademie der bildenden Künste München. (Zugriff vom 30. Dezember 2015; PDF; 172 kB)
- Otto Thomae: Die Propaganda-Maschinerie. 1978, S. 325 f.
- Carl Kraus, Hannes Obermair, ed. (2019), Mythen der Diktaturen. Kunst in Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus – Miti delle dittature. Arte nel fascismo e nazionalsocialismo (in German), Dorf Tirol: Südtiroler Landesmuseum für Kultur- und Landesgeschichte Schloss Tirol, pp. 170–171 (mit Abb.), ISBN 978-88-95523-16-3
- Ernst Klee: Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5, S. 612.