Wilhelm Sauter (1 April 1896 – 27 June 1948) was a German painter, known especially for his portraits of soldiers in both World Wars.
There, in 1916, near Serre-lès-Puisieux, he was involved in the Battle of the Somme and lost part of his hearing, as the result of a grenade explosion that buried him alive.
Although they were never meant to be a glorification of war, the Nazis considered them to be a fine example of brave German soldiers, steeled in battle.
The extent to which Sauter sympathized with Nazi ideology, if at all, remains unclear, but he quickly came to terms with the situation.
His career was immediately and greatly advanced, with more exposure at exhibitions, such as the "Heroische Kunst" of 1935 in Berlin,[1] the Baden Gaukulturschau of 1937, several of the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung[2] in Munich, and the Venice Biennale in 1942.