Adolf Dietrich

A few Swiss painters around the end of the 19th century gained significance: Ferdinand Hodler, Albert Anker, Félix Vallotton, Cuno Amiet. Only today is the work of Adolf Dietrich, who lived in Berlingen on Lake Constance from 1877 to 1957, being appreciated.

Christoph Blocher, who showcases the largest collection of painters from this period in his exhibition space in Herrliberg, hangs a Hodler among Dietrich's landscape paintings and a Vallotton among Dietrich's flower bouquets. There is no difference in quality: Dietrich can hold his own against the so-called greats.

The cultural magazine "Du" published an issue about Adolf Dietrich for the first time in January 1958. Since then, he has been exhibited in the context of New Objectivity throughout Germany, and increasingly as part of naive art in Switzerland, France, and the USA.

Who was Adolf Dietrich? He lived in a simple house in the small village of Berlingen on the shores of Lake Constance. His family reportedly had too little to live on and too much to die. He worked in a knitting factory, in agriculture, and at home. But on Sundays, he passionately drew and painted. Dietrich was self-taught; he did not take an easel outside, but made sketches on-site and then painted at the dining table in his living room. His breakthrough came when the German gallerist Herbert Tannenbaum discovered him, recognizing the uniqueness of his art. Dietrich created over a thousand works – watercolors, gouaches, and oil paintings. However, it was only at the age of fifty that he gained recognition and some prosperity.

Adolf Dietrich's world is simple and unpretentious, a reality that existed and still exists in Switzerland. He is one of the greatest Swiss artists of the last century and is continually exhibited; a current example is "Treasures of Adolf Dietrich" at the Thurgau Art Museum (until mid-September 2023).