Adolf Dietrich was born to poor farmers in the canton of Thurgau as the youngest of seven children. Upon discovering his exceptional graphical talents, his schoolteacher suggested that he become a lithographer. His parents, however, refused: their youngest son was needed as a farmhand.
Dietrich would remain in the house of his parents, as a bachelor, for the rest of his life. Because the small farm provided little income, he had to work as a home worker and as a day labourer in a local textile mill as well as in the woods. Only on Sundays was he free to engage in drawing and painting. His first sketchbook dates to 1896, his first paintings to 1900. He created his works without any training or examples; but he did heed the advice of passing landscape painters to trust in his powers of observation.
The motives of Dietrich's works are limited to his immediate surroundings in Berlingen, and include rural landscapes, animals, people and still lifes.
Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957) Guinea Pigs and Canaries
Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957) Three Guinea Pigs - Mother and Young Eating
Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957) Guinea Pigs and Young with a Milk Jug 1956
Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957) Six Guinea Pigs in a Stall 1934
Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957) Eight Guinea Pigs 1933
Adolf Dietrich (1877-1957)
Adolf Dietrich (1951) Angora Guinea Pig Family