| Ernst Kreidolf | |||
| Birth Name: | Konrad Ernst Theophil Kreidolf | ||
| Birth Date: | 1863 2, df=yes | ||
| Birth Place: | Berne, Switzerland | ||
| Death Place: | Berne, Switzerland | ||
| Training: | Lithographische Anstalt Schmidt-Pecht (1882) Kunstgewerbeschule (1883-1885) Akademie der Bildenden Künste München (1887 - discontinued) | ||
| Movement: | Jugendstil | ||
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Ernst Kreidolf or Konrad Ernst Theophil Kreidolf (9 February 1863 – 12 August 1956) was a Swiss painter largely known for illustrating children's books about flower fairies.
Konrad Ernst Theophil Kreidolf, the second eldest child of the Kreidolf family, was born on 9 February 1863 in Berne, Switzerland.[1]
The family relocated to Konstanz in Germany, where his father opened a toy shop. Ernst Kreidolf was raised by his grandparents in Tägerwilen, Switzerland. In Konstanz, he began an apprenticeship as a lithographer at the Lithographische Anstalt Schmidt-Pecht (Lithographic Institute JA Pecht) while simultaneously studying drawing. Following the completion of his apprenticeship, Kreidolf kept working for Schmidt-Pecht as an assistant in order to provide for his family following the bankruptcy of his parents' shop.[2]
In Munich, he attended the Kunstgewerbeschule. He supplemented his income by working as a lithographic draftsman. Beginning in 1885, he studied art at Paul Nauen's private art school. On his second application in 1887, the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München accepted Kreidolf as a student. He studied under Gabriel von Hackl and Ludwig von Löfftz.
He was a leading figure in the Jugendstil movement. His work as picture books demonstrates a high level of technical proficiency as well as exact botanical and zoological knowledge. Almost all of his illustrations include animals and plants given human characteristics.[3]
Kreidolf's work often features dogs in significant or prominent roles. The Dachshund belonging to Kreidolf's friend and author Leopold Weber, whom he met in Partkirchen, served as inspiration for a large number of quite varied sketches, watercolors, paintings, and a whole illustrated book.
Kreidolf died on 12 August 1956 in Berne. He is interred in Bern's Schosshalden cemetery.