Franz Stassen (1869-1949) was a very prolific artist who mostly created in Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) style. He studied in Berlin. At first, he worked mostly as an illustrator of books (he contributed to more than one hundred different titles) and a cover designer. Later, he expanded to the area of posters, cards, and other ephemera with a focus on mythological and religious themes. He was also a painter with two solo exhibitions (Bayreuth and Dresden), a designer of bookplates (ex libris), and a creator of collectible cards for the Stollwerck chocolate company.

• Franz Stassen illustrated numerous fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers and soon became interested in mythological themes. He was attracted to dramatic scenes from old myths (one of his works was a series of tapestries with motifs from the Old Norse mythological collection Edda for Hitler's office) and classic works like Goethe's Faust.
• The meeting with Siegfried Wagner, son of Richard Wagner, a famous composer, changed his life. Soon, he became some kind of official illustrator and designer of everything related to Wagner's music. He illustrated books and created posters, invitations, and even menus for the dinner parties. His style with exaggerated gestures and dramatic eye expressions is now considered by some critics as a kind of predecessor for the American comic book style.
• Franz Stassen married as a young man, but his wife died soon. From then on, he preferred male company, and most of his life lived with another man. His pretty open homosexuality (which was a criminal offense in his time) was obviously not a problem due to his strong political connections with the leading NSDAP. A year before the end of World War II, he was included in the list of the most important regime artists.

This website offers more detailed information about Franz Stassen and his work.