Otto Lohmüller

Otto Lohmüller (Gengenbach, Baden-Württemberg, 1943) is a German figurative painter, sculptor and book illustrator. His work revolves almost entirely around the human figure, especially early adolescent boys, rendered in an idealized style that looks nearly photographic, usually against minimal backgrounds. His portraits include people from his hometown, people he encountered on travels to India and Southeast Asia and, occasionally, public figures. Some works carry subtle political or social commentary, although this is not a central theme.

After an apprenticeship as a printer in Offenburg, he trained largely on his own, drawing inspiration from Michelangelo, Caravaggio and classical Greek art, and studied art independently in Paris. From the 1970s he began sculpting and showing his work to the public. Since 1982 he has illustrated songbooks, poetry collections and books for local Boy Scouts, and he founded the publishing company Zeus Press to produce art volumes of his work. He became a Boy Scout leader and, in 1989, vice-president of COPSE.