An early exponent of the Neue Sachlichkeit (“New Objectivity”) movement, painter Niklaus Stoecklin explored the abilities of the figure, still life, and landscape to communicate emotional states. He often exaggerated the features of his subjects, using less precise brushwork and putting greater emphasis on gesture and/or expressive color. More recognized for his graphic art, Stoecklin was a prodigious creator of advertising graphics and book illustrations; as a professor at the Schule für Gestaltung (School of Design) in Basel, he trained a generation of Swiss graphic designers.