Leopold Schmutzler

Originally, he planned to attend the "Naval School of Music" in Pula, but was turned down for poor eyesight.

He received important commissions from the Bavarian Royal Family, but also portrayed dancers and other popular performers.

In the thirties, he became a supporter of the Nazis and created a series of works that reflected the Blut und Boden ideology.

In 1940, not long before his death, Jungfrauen nach der Arbeit (Maidens after Work) won a major award at the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung in the Haus der Kunst and was purchased by Hitler for 7,000 Reichsmarks.

[3] His association with the Nazi regime virtually destroyed his career outside Germany, and his posthumous reputation, although his works may still be seen at several museums, including the Frye Art Museum in Seattle whose founder, Charles Frye (1858–1940), was a great admirer of Schmutzler's pre–Nazi work.