Portfolio:

WERNER
SCHNEIDER
I first saw Werner Schneider's work in 1980 at the opening of the "International
Calligraphy Today" exhibition at the lTC Center. Upon entering the gallery, one of the first
pieces one saw on display was an expressive white-on-black rendition of three simple
words: Tanz Ballett Pantomime (opposite). T he calligraphy, executed for a sheet music
cover, was stunning in its simplicity and directness.

ach word was rendered in a different for the call for entries. Although not one of

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rhythm. With nothing else in the design to Schneider's best works, it was notable as an
distract from these three words, the entire advance showing of Schneider Antiqua, released a
focus was on the sense of movement year later by Berthold. Only the capitals were used
and immediacy present in the act of writing. The on the poster, but from the moment I saw them I
writing was not formal calligraphy; there was no was eager to buy the typeface.
recognizable alphabet or hand. Yet, the words A decade after the International Calligraphy
sang. I later discovered that they were written with Today exhibition I finally had my first opportunity
. a ruling pen, a tool not well-known in the United to meet Werner Schneider. It was at Type go in
States at the time. Oxford. Unfortunately, he did not speak English
This piece alone would have been enough for and I do not speak German so our conversations
me to remember Schneider's name. But there was were short and stilted. I met him again, by acci­
a second piece in the exhibition by Schneider. It dent, five years later at an exhibition of calligraphy
was a quotation from John F. Kennedy rendered in in stone, paper and glass in The Hague. Several
elegant roman capitals-dearly modelled on the examples of his work were on display. In a show
Trajan inscription but made personal and thus that included excellent work by Brody
modern-arranged asymmetrically. Once again, Neuenschwander, Claude Mediavilla, Goedele
there were no other elements to distract from the Soeteway, Elmo van Slingerland and others,
text. Thus, the focus was on the letters and what Schneider's compositions still stood out. In that
they said; and, ultimately, on the mastery of the setting it was easy to see how strongly he has
calligrapher. The Kennedy quotation displayed a influenced these other outstanding calligraphers.
firm control of letterform structure, proportion,
spacing and, above all, arrangement. In its quiet

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n The Hague Werner and I were finally able
simplicity and severe restraint it was the complete to talk because he now spoke English. Not
antithesis of Tanz Ballett Pantomime. It was abun­ perfect English by any means, but certainly
dantly clear that Werner Schneider, whoever he better than my non-existent German. It was
might be, was a calligrapher of the first rank, in a then that I began scheming to bring him to New
league with Friedrich Poppl and Hermann Zapf. York. My eagerness to bring Schneider here grew
In the next few years my admiration for Werner when I heard that Letter Exchange had scheduled
Schneider grew as I began corresponding with him a workshop with him in London. Obviously, lan­
and as he submitted work to the Calligraphy in the guage was no longer a barrier to learning from this
Graphic Arts competitions sponsored by the outstanding calligrapher. With the encouragement
Society of Scribes at the Master Eagle Gallery. Not of Michael Clark, another longtime Schneider
surprisingly, his works were always chosen and booster, and the hard work of Mary Anne Wolfe as
often they were among the highlights of each Workshop Chairman for the Society and now
show. For the ninth and last show I had the privi­ President, arrangements were finally made for
lege of commissioning Werner to design the poster Werner to teach in New York in 1999.
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 My dream was to have Schneider teach a week­ Gunter Gerhard Lange a critic equally as tough. In
long workshop that would begin with formal his type designs Schneider has tried to maintain the
roman capitals and end with spontaneous writing high quality that Poppl established in his own
with brushes and ruling pens. But financial and work and that Lange has enforced for all Berthold
logistical constraints made this impossible. typefaces. The results so far have been two type­
Instead, Schneider taught a three-day workshop faces, Schneider Antiqua and Schneider Libretto.
on roman capitals. It was not only his first work­ Schneider's small output as a type designer is
shop in this country, but also his first trip to the in keeping with his emphasis on quality and his
United States. Since his health had been problem­ deep knowledge of the fundamental letterforms of
atic for the past year and a half, this workshop our culture. His first design, Schneider Antiqua
may have been the only chance any of us will have (1987), is an antiqua or humanist roman derived
had to study in person with this great calligrapher from his own elegant calligraphic interpretations
without traveling to Germany. of the Trajan capitals with a harmonious set of
minuscules. Schneider Libretto (1995), a modern or

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erner Schneider studied with neoclassical roman, is similarly rooted in his calli­
Friedrich Poppl from 1956 to 1958 at graphic work. Together they define the roman let­
the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden. ter as made with both a broad-edged pen and a
Poppl was at home with the full pointed pen.
range of calligraphic forms-from classical roman For Schneider the value of Poppl's style was its
capitals to wild expressionistic writing-and that remove from the modern trends of the late 1950s
influence is reflected in Schneider's work. (i.e., the Swiss International style associated with
Schneider was invited to be Poppl's assistant after the Kunstgewerbeschule Basel). Directly after
he won the Rudo Spemann Award from the city of finishing his studies in 1958, Schneider became the
Offenbach. As Poppl's assistant, he participated in house designer for Breitkopf & Hartel, the oldest
projects for ministries, government authorities, publisher in Europe. He also freelanced for adver­
advertising agencies and design studios. Poppl tising agencies, civic authorities and other publish­
forced him to work hard on his formal lettering. ers. He continues to work for the same range of
He also introduced Schneider to the wonders of clients today, as long as they demand a high level
the ruling pen as a scribal tool. In 1959 Schneider of creativity and individuality in letter design. His
briefly joined his mentor in teaching graphic favorite area is logo design, though he also enjoys
design at the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden. The working on cultural projects. Werner prefers
close relationship between the two men lasted projects concerned with durability rather than
until Poppl's death in 1982. those that are simply riding a trend. He finds that
Werner's professional friendship with Poppl his "free artistic work" (work done for himself)
was a special experience for him that not only gives him the best grounding for his commercial
.
affected his letterforms, but his teaching. Poppl work as a designer.
analyzed his work in a "benevolent and collegial, In Schneider's view, calligraphy is an essential

New Year's Card (inside)

but inexorably critical" way. When, after Poppl's basis for the creation of a "human" typography.
'"Music and the Art of Writing death, Schneider turned his hand to type design he He describes the work of Gutenberg, Zap£ and
during the Baroque Period'"
followed his teacher's lead and submitted his work Frutiger as examples of human typography.
1985, 11 11/16'" x 16 1/2'" (opened)
metal broad pen to H. Berthold AG. There he found in art director Schneider's own type designs are grounded in his
calligraphy. Computers "play an insignificant role
in the layout process, [but] an important role in the
technical creation" of his fonts. Today, he sees the
role of calligraphy in design as the expressive,
individualistic, spontaneous element that acts in
contrast to the precision of typography. This ten­
sion is evident in much of his own design work
and underscores his confidence with both classical
roman capitals and personal scripts.

he practical experience Schneider gained

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working freelance was applied to his
teaching. After his brief stint at the
Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden in 1959 he
did not return to teaching until 1973. He taught
communication design (with an emphasis on let­
tering and typography) at the Fachhochschule
Wiesbaden for the next twenty-four years. Since
his retirement he keeps in close contact with the

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JOHN F. KENNEDY

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 teaches his students the form and function of let­
ters based on historical models. "There is no rea­
·'

son to ignore fundamental criteria in the future

because lettering remains a sensitive medium," he
states. He believes in copying historical models
and in developing modern variants. Schneider
begins his classes with a study of roman capitals,
carolingian minuscules and the cancellaresca
corsiva. He contrasts these calligraphic forms with
the rigidity and predictability of type. Werner
believes that spreading high standards in lettering
does as much good for our civilization as any art­
work in our museums. He is currently working on
a book on letter design, Studienbuch der Schrift:
Schule des Sehens (H. Schmidt Verlag, Mainz) that is
scheduled for publication in 2001. It will be part of
a celebration honoring 6oo years of Gutenberg.
Schneider's influences extend beyond Friedrich
Poppl to include the anonymous scriptor of the
Trajan inscription, Hermann Zapf, Herb Lubalin
and Gunter Gerhard Lange. It is a small, but
select circle.

er the years I have seen a number of

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Schneider's calligraphic works. There
are posters similar to the Kennedy
quotation with its spare, yet graceful and
heartbreakingly beautiful roman capitals. Other
posters are rendered in a neoclassical roman that is
just as stunning. (These letters reappear in
Schneider Libretto, but the typeface is no match for
the calligraphy. The delicate spring and subtle live­
liness of the letters has been lost in the inevitable
compromises type design requires). And of course,
there are many broadsides and music covers full of
visually exciting ruling pen writing, full of verve
and power. But the two pieces that I return to
again and again are a music cover for Breitkopf &
Hartel which uses a roman bookhand and italic
that are forerunners of Schneider Antiqua, and a
Christmas card for the Bach tricentennial in 1985
written in a deft mix of fraktur and kanzlei. The
music cover is not only a skillful display of callig­
raphy, but its layout is absolute perfection. I often
use it to discuss hierarchy, color and form in my
typography classes. Thus, it is not a surprise that
Schneider developed a typeface from the cover's
calligraphy. The Bach celebration Christmas card is
small, but astounding for Schneider's command of
the German blackletter hands and his subtle use of
swashes to tie the whole design together. It is
another perfect lesson in design; and evidence that
Text above: "So we are brought school, designing diplomas and keeping track of the best calligraphy is more than a collection of
to ar end by thy anger and student work. beautifully-crafted letters.
silenced by thy wrath!" (Psalm
"I agree with Adrian Frutiger," says Werner,
90:7)
"that the written letter is definitely the best basis erner Schneider's work is a reminder

W
for the study of all letterforms: it provides training of the timeless quality and value of
of the eye and the hand. For an understanding of the roman capitals, the cancellaresca
form there is only this sequence: writing and corsiva and the other alphabets in our
drawing as a means of sensitizing the eye, fol­ standard repertoire. Yet, at the same time, his work
lowed by work on the computer." Schneider also shows how important it is to keep the tradi-
36
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 tion alive not simply by copying the past, but by capitals and other historic hands represent the
imbuing it with a new modern spirit. And this communal aspect of this art. Together they remind
can only be done by deeply understanding these us that the art of letters is unique in its role as both
letters, absorbing them into our blood and our fin­ personal expression and cultural communication.
gers and muscles. Only then can we create new
interpretations that will in turn be the classics for Paul Shaw is a calligrapher, type designer, graphic
the future. And only then can we have the confi­ designer and author. He curated the 1999 Werner
dence to challenge the standards of the past Schneider exhibition at Fordham University and
through new explorations of tools and the scripts subsequently wrote articles on Mr. Schneider for both
that reside within each of us. The scripts represent Baseline and Print magazines. He is currently editor of
the personal aspect of calligraphy while the roman Alphabet for the Friends of Calligraphy.

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Typefaces from left to right, top to
bottom: Schneider Antiqua Light,
Schneider Antiqua Light Italic,
Schneider Libretto Light, Schneider
Libretto Light Italic

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