“A factory bookbinder’s son,” that’s how the story of Max Schwimmer began in Leipzig. Max Schwimmer was born here in Leipzig in 1895. He became a painter, a graphic artist, and an illustrator.
Max Schwimmer’s journey wasn’t straightforward. He first trained as a teacher. He taught in the Erzgebirge after his studies. World War I changed his path. After serving as a soldier, he studied art history and philosophy at Leipzig University in 1919.
It was during this time that Max Schwimmer’s artistic side began to flourish. He connected with the anti-bourgeois cabaret scene. Names like Hans Reimann and Erich Weinert were part of that world. Max Schwimmer contributed to satirical magazines. Johannes R. Becher helped him gain recognition in left-wing art circles.
After travels in France and Italy, Max Schwimmer taught at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Leipzig. He married Eva Götze in 1922. They had two daughters. The couple lived in Leipzig-Gohlis since 1925. Their marriage ended in 1933.
The rise of the Nazis drastically altered Max Schwimmer’s life. He was dismissed from his teaching position in 1933. His art was labeled “degenerate.” Nine of his works were confiscated. He then focused on book illustration. By 1944, he had illustrated over 25 books.
In 1939, Max Schwimmer was drafted into medical service in Leipzig. He was soon discharged. In 1943, Max Schwimmer married Ilse Naumann. By 1944, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. He ended up in a prisoner-of-war camp. In April 1945, he walked to his wife in Wohlbach.
After the war, Max Schwimmer joined the Communist Party. In 1946, he became a professor at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig. He headed the graphics department. He left this role in 1950 after a targeted campaign against him. In 1951, he took a similar position in Dresden. Max Schwimmer stayed there until his death.
Max Schwimmer died in Leipzig in 1960 from a heart attack. His final resting place is in Leipzig-Lindenau cemetery.
Max Schwimmer is remembered as an expressive realist. He is among Saxony’s most important painters of the last century. He became a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin, in 1952.
Max Schwimmer received awards. In 1955, he received the Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Silver. In 1956, he won the National Prize of the GDR for his illustrations.
The Stadtbibliothek Leipzig holds Max Schwimmer’s artistic estate. It includes paintings, gouaches, watercolors, drawings, and book illustrations. There are also works from his second wife, Ilske Schwimmer.
In Leipzig, a memorial plaque on Gottschedstrasse 4 commemorates Max Schwimmer. It ensures that this artist is not forgotten.