Paul Thesing

Paul Thesing initially studied chemistry but then turned his attention to his skill as a draughtsman and worked as a caricaturist in Switzerland from 1907 onwards. He drew caricatures for the workers’ paper ‘Der Neue Postillon’ and, from 1909, for the satirical magazine ‘Nebelspalter’. After 1909 he dedicated himself to painting. He had contact with the circle of German artists at the Café du Dôme and met Alfred Flechtheim. He worked as a caricaturist for the magazine ‘L’Assiette au Beurre’ and the Munich satirical publication ‘Der Komet’. During World War I he lived in Spain and published his caricatures in daily newspapers. He also worked on landscapes, still lifes and portraits. In 1920 Flechtheim published Thesing’s portfolio ‘Damas de Noche’. In 1921 Thesing became a member of the Darmstadt Secession. He published graphic works through Die Dachstube publishing house and worked as a set designer for theatres in Mainz and Darmstadt. In 1924 he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize by the People’s State of Hesse. From 1924 caricatures of his appeared in the ‘Hessischer Volksfreund’, a publication brought out by Hesse’s Social Democrats.

From 1929–30 Thesing lived in Paris and Collioure; from 1931–36 on Ibiza and 1936–39 on Ischia. After returning to Berlin in 1940, he was artistic adviser at TOBIS until 1944 where he worked on several film productions. He also published propaganda drawings in ‘Der Angriff’ and ‘Angriff am Abend’.

From 1945–48 he became the first president of the Neue Darmstädter Sezession which he had co-founded. From 1947–48 he was director of the Lehrwerkstätten der bildenden Kunst, Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt and, from 1949, more actively involved once again as a political graphic artist and painter.