The 20 euro collector's coin “100. Birthday of Vicco von Bülow (Loriot)" honors the well-known and popular humorist, whose quotes have become common knowledge - from "There used to be more tinsel" to "Don't say anything now" to "The duck stays outside".
Unlike usual, the coin motif was not created in an artist competition, but was designed by Studio Loriot, which manages the humorist's estate, and implemented in collaboration with the Berlin State Mint. The jury decided between three submitted designs for the “Rosenkavalier”, which Loriot often placed next to his autograph. The jury found: “In the chosen implementation, subtle humor impressively meets the surreal charm of the humorist's work.” A special homage to Loriot is also the solitary, non-circumferential writing with perhaps his best-known quote: OH WHAT.
Loriot, whose real name is Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow or in his chosen short form "Vicco", was born on November 12, 1923 in Brandenburg an der Havel. He gave his stage name based on the French word for Pirol, which adorns the coat of arms of the von Bülow family. After graduating from high school, he pursued a career as an officer and was deployed on the Eastern Front for three years during the Second World War. After the war, he studied painting and graphics at the State Art School in Hamburg and developed one of his trademarks , the bulbous-nosed man. But he didn't just stick to caricaturing, but was successful in many artistic areas: he wrote sketches and scripts, he was an actor and director, he staged operas and plays.
The self-confessed Wagner supporter and fan of pugs – “A life without pugs is possible, but pointless” – died on August 22, 2011. His work will probably remain immortal. Be it a Cossack tip or a breakfast egg, a lottery winner or an Oedipussi, a Hoppenstedt family or Pappa ante portas, there is hardly a German who can't laugh with Loriot. His perfectionism and timing are legendary, his popularity is based on his view of human weaknesses, which he makes fun of without denigrating any individual. He mastered subtle irony as well as sensual slapstick: "The cake in the human face is one of the most important ideas of international humor.
