Fritz Schönpflug
Austrian, 1873-1951
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Fritz Schönpflug was an Austrian caricaturist, painter, graphic artist and postcard artist.
Schönpflug's training was largely autodidactic. He was co-founder and artistic director of the humorous weekly “Die Muskete” (1905-1941), but also worked for other magazines, such as the “Wiener fliegende Blätter”, the “Wiener Figaro”, the “Bombe” and the “Sketch” from London. He was also an excellent horse illustrator. As a postcard artist, he is known for his depictions of Viennese types and caricatures of life in the imperial and royal army. He created around 1000 templates for the Viennese postcard publisher Brüder Kohn Wien (BKW). Schönpflug also designed advertising posters, including warnings for passengers of the Viennese trams (1910) and cover drawings for brochures.
However, Schönpflug also created a series of anti-Semitic cartoons for the Christian Social newspaper Reichspost and its supplement Wiener Stimmen together with Theo Zasche and M. J. Leuthe.
Schönpflug was a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus from 1906 to 1936, and was awarded the title of professor in 1949.
He is buried in a grave of honor at the Baumgartner Cemetery.
