Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach
1851
—
1913
German symbolist artist, founder of naturism (1851-1913)
Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach was a German painter and social reformer. Regarded as the "forefather of alternative movements", he championed Lebensreform, Freikörperkultur, and pacifism. His rural commune Himmelhof inspired his student Gustav Gräser to found the Monte Verità settlement. As a painter, Diefenbach worked within Symbolism.