Raemaekers, Louis, 1869-1956

Raemaekers was born on Apr. 6, 1869 in Roermond, Netherlands; States diploma, Art School of Amsterdam, 1891; was director of Art and Craft School, 1895; became professor of Horticultural High School (1896), Agricultural High School (1898), and Ryks Hoogere Burger School (1899) in Wageningen; in 1913, gave up teaching to become a cartoonist; was decorated Officier Legion d'Honneur (France), Chevalier Ordre de Leopold, Commander of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), and Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau (Netherlands); came to the US in 1940; publications include Another peace conference (1912), The Great War : a neutral's indictment (1916), America in the war (1918), and Raemaekers' cartoon history of the war (1918-19); he died in 1956.

Dutch cartoonist.

Biography

Raemaekers was born on April 6, 1869 in Roermond, Netherlands; States diploma, Art School of Amsterdam, 1891; was director of Art and Craft School, 1895; became professor of Horticultural High School (1896), Agricultural High School (1898), and Ryks Hoogere Burger School (1899) in Wageningen; in 1913, gave up teaching to become a cartoonist; was decorated Officier Legion d'Honneur (France), Chevalier Ordre de Leopold, Commander of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), and Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau (Netherlands); came to the U.S. in 1940; publications include Another peace conference (1912), The Great War: a neutral's indictment (1916), America in the war (1918), and Raemaekers' cartoon history of the war (1918-19); he died in 1956.

Biographical Note

[Photo at right: "Slow Asphyxiation" by Louis Raemaekers depicting soldiers who were exposed to irritating gases while fighting in the trenches.]

Louis Raemaekers (1869-1956) was a Dutch painter and cartoonist known for his anti-German cartoons during World War I.

Louis Raemaekers was born in 1869 in Roermond, in the Netherlands. His father was a newspaper editor and his mother was originally from Germany. Raemaekers studied art in Holland and Brussels.

Beginning his career as a painter and illustrator, Raemaekers joined the Algemeen Handelsblad in 1907 and in 1909 starting drawing for the De Telegraaf after the Algemeen Handelsblad became uncomfortable with his strong inclination towards producing anti-German cartoons.

Raemaekers became known for his biting portrayals of the cruelty of war, particularly as brought about by the German military’s actions in Belgium. Germany was outraged by Raemaekers’ works and the Netherlands charged him with endangering the country's neutrality in the war (although he was never convicted) while a bounty was put on him by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Raemaekers' work was well received among allied countries. Raemaekers fled to Britain and was welcomed by British dignitaries and journalists. France presented Raemaekers with the Cross of the Legion of Honour and hosted a reception for him at the Sorbonne. In 1917 he toured the United States and being critical of the United States' neutrality, urged the United States to intervene in the war.

Raemaekers’ cartoons were widely popular throughout the world and heavily reproduced. Some were compiled in books and reprinted as posters and postcards. An estimated 1200 cartoons were reproduced in allied countries and an estimated 1 billion copies were published in the United States during 1917. Several books about the war were published with his cartoons including the 1916 work, Raemaeker’s Cartoons (1916) and Raemaeker’s Cartoon History of the War (1919).

During World War I, Raemaekers’ cartoons were exhibited throughout the world including in Spain, Britain, France and the United States and in 1942, he lent works to the “Cartoons of the Day” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Raemaekers, also critical of widespread fascism and Nazism in the 1930s, ended his career in the early 1940s.

Louis Raemaekers died on July 26, 1956 in Scheveningen, Netherlands.