Philipp Arlen

Philipp Arlen first completed an apprenticeship as a lithographer in St. Gallen, then studied art in Leipzig and from 1897 to 1900 at a private art school in Munich. Longer stays in Paris, England and Italy rounded off his years of training. From 1917 to 1935 Arlen worked as a commercial artist and illustrator in St. Gallen and Zurich. In 1936 he settled in the Locarno region and devoted himself to his free art. He gained recognition and fame as an illustrator, among other things as the designer of the Bündner Schulbuch. In 1941 he designed the card for the Swiss Jubilee celebrations. After retiring to Ticino, Arlen devoted himself mainly to free art. He created landscapes and portraits in oil.

Philipp Arlen left behind only a small oeuvre of posters. This is characterised by a detailed, realistic style of painting that betrays the illustrator. Fine drawings of people, which can always be read as social character studies, define the figures on his posters.

Posters by Philipp Arlen