Carl Schmitt Foundation

08/29/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—The media of wisdom
“Knowledge is not an end, any more than perseverance. They are the media of wisdom. In like manner, love and labor are media for the end, counsel–or understanding in the heart.” (April 1932)

[Gertrude Peeling Apples, c. 1925, pastel on dark brown paper, 10⅞ x 8½ in.]

08/07/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—A man, not mankind
Wisdom and prophetic intuition
Abide with a man
Not mankind
A man can remember his origins
And a man can live in apprehension of his end
Not mankind
(1934)

[Peter, oil on canvas, c. 1941, 24 x 20 in.]

07/31/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—The first step
"The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is the desire for it: and who desires it?" (1955)

[Portrait of the Artist's Grandmother, October 1906]

06/25/2025

As old age crept upon him Carl Schmitt reflected on "a continuous, awareness of reprieve: that my maker is making me a present of this day, of this hour.”

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

https://carlschmittvisionofbeauty.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/carl-schmitt-the-famous-painter-of-silvermine-2/

06/11/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—The only power in the world
“The only power in the world—the basic creative force—is Charity: the transcendent existence of the Father made immanent and available to man through Christ, in his birth as man, and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit.” (1964)

[Descent of the Holy Spirit, pen and ink drawing, December 17, 1920]

06/10/2025

Although many critics were puzzled by Carl Schmitt's work or couldn't see past his bright colors, one was singularly impressed, calling him “the logical heir of the great Americans such as Homer and Eakins.”

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

https://carlschmittvisionofbeauty.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/from-the-archives-schmitt-and-the-surrounding-inanities-or-why-didnt-someone-tell-me-twenty-years-ago-about-these-men-that-are-selling-at-fabulous-prices-now-2/

06/05/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—We do not yet despair sufficiently
"Hope can only be wanted when we despair sufficiently. Today we do not yet despair sufficiently – it is a half-way affair, clinging to an old faith like a fairy-tale. Only when we are honest enough to acknowledge our very patent loss of faith, can we recover it again through Hope and Love." (1939)

[Woman and Guardian Angel, oil on canvas on board, 1925, 30 x 25 in.]

06/02/2025

Carl Schmitt's works are "essays in full and flaming color," their subjects "modeled with conviction" and "chosen with good taste," "sentiment" and "sincerity," with a "feeling for decorative design."

Just some of the early reviews of Schmitt's work from the New York press. And these were the positive ones.

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

Reviews of Carl Schmitt’s early work in newspapers and magazines were generally limited to judgments based on now-dated concepts of “sincerity” and “sentiment,” while…

05/30/2025

Carl Schmitt's breakthrough was to build form with color. Even the background is no mere flat laying on of paint, but a sculpting of colors which allows each layer to shine through, resulting in a vibrant iridescence of color.

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

https://carlschmittvisionofbeauty.wordpress.com/2025/05/30/featured-painting-peeled-orange-2/

05/28/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—Our salvation lies in the impossible
“In an age like ours, which is dying of the possible, can anyone see that our salvation lies in the impossible: such as goodness and beauty?” (1961)

[Listening Madonna, c. 1923, oil on canvas, 42 x 35 in.]

05/27/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—Nothing short of the hopelessly impossible
“Human nature is so constructed that the human being is not long satisfied with just the extremely difficult, but possible. Nothing short of the hopelessly impossible is sufficient to arouse his hopes and efforts.” (1961)

[Coronation of the Virgin, oil on canvas, c. 1924, 42 x 35 in.]

05/27/2025

The twisted and gnarled trees in the background are a symbol of and death, both in the Garden of Eden and in reference to Christ’s life and death. Schmitt will place it in many of his Madonna and Child pictures for the next thirty years.

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

https://carlschmittvisionofbeauty.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/just-look-at-it-madonna-with-black-head-dress-dalmatian-mother/