Wilhelm Blanke

{{Short description|German painter (1873–1936)}}

{{Infobox artist

| image = Wilhelm Blanke um 1923.jpg

| caption = Blanke in 1923

| birth_name = Wilhelm Blanke

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1873|3|11}}

| birth_place = Kargowa, Province of Posen, German Empire

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1936|4|16|1873|3|11}}

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| field = {{hlist|Painting|lithography}}

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}}

Wilhelm Blanke (11 March 1873 – 16 April 1936) was a German painter and lithographer.

Born to Johanna Karoline (née Neumann) and Ernst Johann Blanke in Kargowa, he was trained as a decorative painter by his eldest brother. He later moved to Berlin to work on his profession. From 1895 to 1930, Blanke lived and worked in Steglitz.{{cite web|url=http://steglitz-museum.de/836-2/vergangene-ausstellungen/auf-den-spuren-des-steglitzer-kunstmalers-wilhelm-blanke-1873-1936|title=Wilhelm Blanke (1873-1936)|publisher={{Interlanguage link|Steglitz Museum|de|Steglitz-Museum}}|date=2012|accessdate=23 September 2022|language=German}} Blanke often participated in art exhibitions.{{cite web|url=https://www.lotsearch.de/lot/wilhelm-blanke-1873-1936-maler-des-dt-4956812|title=Wilhelm Blanke (1873-1936), Maler des dt|publisher=LotSearch|accessdate=23 September 2022}}

In the 1920s, his art reflected an Art Deco taste.{{cite book|last1=Sichtermann|first1=Barbara|last2=Rose|first2=Ingo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpgTAQAAIAAJ&q=blanke|title=Living in Berlin|page=105|date=2002|accessdate=23 September 2022|isbn=9782080106766}} After an art exhibition in 1931, art critic {{Interlanguage link|Franz Servaes|de|Franz Servaes}} called Blanke "one of the greatest masters of Berlin painting," praising how "every brushstroke 'sits' with him," and complimenting how he juxtaposes colors "in the most daring way."{{cite web|url=https://www.mehlis.eu/en/catalogs/8416/item/4562/|title=Wilhelm Blanke, Damenportrait|publisher=Auktionshaus Mehlis|accessdate=23 September 2022}} Indeed, Blanke was noted for his use of color in his work.

He had a son, Henry, born in 1901.{{cite book|last=Barnett|first=Teresa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ngkAQAAIAAJ|title=The UCLA Oral History Program|date=1999|publisher=University of California, Los Angeles|page=234|accessdate=23 September 2022}}