Johannes Handschin
Illustration — Silvaplana 1934 Johannes Handschin a.k.a. Hans Handschin (1899–1948) was a noted Swiss artist and one of the leaders of the Basel graphic art movement known for their art deco posters. Emil Cardinaux was one of the first Swiss artists to produce posters.
Also recorded as Hans Handschin
Johannes Handschin
Johannes Handschin · Self-scanned · Public domain
- Born
- 1899 · Rickenbach.
- Died
- 1948 · Basel.
- Nationality
- Switzerland
- Occupation
- graphic designer · architect · artist
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6216722 · wikipedia · Johannes Handschin
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Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
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Identity
Identity
His minimalist style and use of bold colours was used to promote Swiss skiing resorts. Artists that followed his lead and laid the groundwork for this new art form were Augusto Giacometti, Otto Morach, Carl Moos, Burkhard Mangold, Walther Koch and Otto Baumberger. In 1925 Handschin was inspired by the transmission wheel poster of Niklaus Stoecklin (1896–1982), who had a passion for airbrushing objects, free of ornamentation, to express the perfection of the 'Machine Age' and using the technique as a substitute for photography in advertising consumer goods. This marked the start of the SachPlakat Basel school centered on the printer "Wassermann". During the 1930s to 1950s, hyperrealist poster artists such as Hans Handschin, Herbert Leupin, Peter Birkhäuser, Fritz Bühler, Max Dalang and Donald Brun produced a great number of lithographic posters depicting products created by Basel manufacturers, and whose works were characterised by a rich palette of colours and flawless printing.
Johannes Handschin is recorded with the occupation graphic designer. Recorded with the occupation poster artist. Recorded as graphic designer, architect and artist.
Documentary record
Johannes Handschin appears in the authority records of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek as an architect and artist (1899 – 1948). Johannes Handschin was born in 1899 in Rickenbach and died in 1948 in Basel.
![Für das Alter / HH [Hans Handschin]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/CH-NB_Poster_Collection_SNL_BIEN_183.jpg/800px-CH-NB_Poster_Collection_SNL_BIEN_183.jpg)
Für das Alter / HH [Hans Handschin]
Hans Handschin (1899-1948) · https: permalink.snl.ch/bib/chccsa000012783
Schweizer Mustermesse Basel, 18.-28. März 1939 / HANDSCHIN
Hans Handschin (1899-1948) · https: permalink.snl.ch/bib/chccsa000004918
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1899
Johannes Handschin was born on 7 June 1899.
1948
Johannes Handschin died on 24 January 1948.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Rickenbach.
Birth place
Basel.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Johannes Handschin”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6216722: Johannes Handschin
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Johannes Handschin, revision 1369062969 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
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References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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