Wilhelm Busch

Wilhelm Busch
Self-portrait, 1894
Self-portrait, 1894
BornHeinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch
(1832-04-14)14 April 1832[1][2][a]
Wiedensahl, Kingdom of Hanover (today Lower Saxony)
Died9 January 1908(1908-01-09) (aged 75)
Mechtshausen, Province of Hanover, German Empire (today part of Seesen, Lower Saxony)
EducationHannover Polytechnic, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Beaux-Arts Academy, Antwerp, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
GenreCaricature, painting, poetry
Notable worksMax and Moritz
Signature

Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (14 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day.

Busch drew on the tropes of folk humour as well as a profound knowledge of German literature and art to satirize contemporary life, any kind of piety, Catholicism, Philistinism, religious morality, bigotry, and moral uplift.

His mastery of drawing and verse became deeply influential for future generations of comic artists and vernacular poets. Among many notable influences, The Katzenjammer Kids was inspired by Busch's Max and Moritz. Today, the Wilhelm Busch Prize and the Wilhelm Busch Museum help maintain his legacy. The 175th anniversary of his birth in 2007 was celebrated throughout Germany. Busch remains one of the most influential poets and artists in Western Europe, being called the "Forefather of Comics".[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Archion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Galway2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Töpper, Stephan (22 December 2007). "Urvater des Comics" [Forefather of Comics]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 28 January 2013.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).