An artist and his art within the art

Large oil painting of Oskar Barthold with two of his marionettes.

As another anniversary of immigrating to Canada approaches, thoughts have turned to Fritz's father-in-law, the late German puppeteer and artist, Oskar Barthold. When Fritz met his future wife at the art academy in Halle, in the late 1940s, she had been working with her father at his Marionettenbühne Halle, as they performed many puppet plays for adults and for children.
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1940s marionettes, created by Oskar Barthold, linolcut by Fritz

More Barthold marionettes, sketched by Fritz Stehwien

Rediscovering old paintings of these marionettes is more than fascinating: It combines two very different artists in one and at the same time, serves as a record of how many puppets were part of the very successful theater. Only a few are still in the family's possession and they have quite a story to tell. The story of how they 'lived' and travelled all the way to Canada, escaping political turmoil in postwar Germany, certainly adds extra mystique to the marionettes and the works that depict them.