(b Basle, 11 April 1878; d Zurich, 27 April 1947). Swiss painter. He studied in Basle, in Munich under Heinrich Knirr, and in Rome. He worked from 1913 to 1939 as a teacher of composition at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Stuttgart, gaining international recognition as one of the few Swiss Expressionists. In his panel paintings and murals, he tried to achieve a synthesis of Expressionism, Symbolism and Classicism, using startling contrasts of light and dark tones. He also produced mosaics and stained-glass windows. His brother Paul Altherr (1870–1928) was also a painter.