Rudolf Riemerschmid

Rudolf Riemerschmid was a German artist who worked in the Art Nouveau style. He was born in Munich on November 2, 1873 and died there in 1953.

He was the third son of Heinrich Riemerschmid (1836-1883), a chemist, and Marie Josepha (1844-1915). The latter was the only daughter of the Munich general music director Franz Lachner (1803-1890). Heinrich Riemerschmid was the son of Anton Riemerschmid (1802-1878), a spirits manufacturer and Bavarian politician. He worked in the family factory, as did his brother Eduard (1835-1894). Eduard was the father of the later architect and furniture designer Richard Riemerschmid (1868-1957). There is occasional confusion when works of art are attributed to the two talented relatives.

After studying art at the Karlsruhe Art Academy under Friedrich Fehr, Rudolf Riemerschmid returned to Munich and joined the Munich Secession. He was regularly represented at the annual exhibitions of this artists’ association. In the years between 1904 and 1920, he worked for the magazine “Die Jugend”, the publication organ of the Munich Art Nouveau movement, of which he was a leading representative.

In the 1920s, he had to give up his artistic career due to a head injury he had sustained as an artilleryman in the First World War. This injury led to progressive blindness. As a result, the artist’s work is quite limited. Rudolf Riemerschmid died at the age of eighty in his hometown of Munich.

He left behind a comparatively small number of paintings, which he monogrammed with his initials. His choice of subject was often traditional and frequently depicted young women or groups of children playing or dancing. Later in his career, he increasingly resorted to Art Nouveau forms.