Figure 1.--This portrait, "Boy with a nosegay" was painted about 1560 on an oak pannel. It is attributed to the German school, but the arrtist is unknown. |
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HBC has so far acquired only limited information on German artists who have painted interesting works illustrating boys' fashions. One of the most important was Winterhalter, a favorite of Queen Victoria. His portraits, however did not concentrate on Germans. We have also noted a few images that are not attributed to specific artists, but are dated. With the German artists, nationality can be complicated. There were a large number of German states with the Holy Roman Empire and klater the German Confederation. There were also German speakers living outside Germany oproper, especially in Switzerland. Before the 19th century, some of these artists may have looked in themselves as Germans. Ther was also Austria which after the Ausrtro-Prussian War (1866) was exccluded by Bismarck from Geramny, but where many which historically has been an essential part of Germany.
The Swiss artist Albert Anker painted many school pictures. In one painting, “Die Dorfschule" (1848), the boys in a class are playing and misbehaving while the girls behaving like they should. Another of his paintings is called "Dorfschule im Schwarzwald" (1858).
The paintings provide a woinderful view of what school was like fir German children in the mid-19th century.
HBC has been unable to find any information on this minor German artist. We know he painted in the early 19th century as we had a portriat done in 1838. Germany of course did not exist in the early 19th century. We do not know what German state he was from. His art rather stadles the chasm between primitive/naive art and a great portratist. He is of interest becaise he is German, and we have realtively few German artists. In addition, his portrit gives us insight not only in Germany, but into the 1830s which is the decade before photograpohy which HBC still has only limited information.
German painter Lucas Cranach (the Elder) takes his name from the small town of Kronach in South Germany, where he was born. Very before the turn of the 16th century. He settled in Vienna and began working in the intelectual circles associated with the newly founded university. Cranach went to Wittenberg as court painter to Frederick III (the Wise), Elector of Saxony. It was there he painted matching portraits of a Saxon Prince and Princess.
Albrecht Dürer was born at Nuremberg in 1471. He was first a goldsmith, travelled around the country and to Italy. He married Agnes Frey. They had no children. He is regarded as one of the famous painters between MiddleAges and the Renaissance. He is noted most for religious motives but he also did landscape and portraits as well of studies about proportions of the human body. Perhaps his most famous drawing is "Praying hands". He did a self portrait of himself as a youth. He did it while looking into the mirror at the age of 13 or 14. Notice the interesting clothing!
A.L. Eckardt was a listed German artist. He apparently worked with Dresden porcelin factories. His portraits were done in porcelin and then hung like regular painted portrasits. We note a pair of portraits from a Denver family. We wonder if the family visited Dresden. Or perhaps just sent photographs to Dresden. The two porcelins were done by KPM. We are not entirely sure why a mother would want a porcelin rasther than a painted portrait. Perhaps she loved fine porcelin.
We hknow nothing about Robert Gottshalk, a German artist of the 1930s, at this time. We have one of his painting. It is a portrait of an unidetified German boy wearing a blue sweater with a white-collared shirt underneath, dark blue short trousers, and grey long stockings. He also wears strap shoes. He is depicted with one of his toys, a doll dressed as
Harlequin, a famous comic figure from the tradition of commedia del arte. The portrait is dated 1932 and is probably a good representation of boys' clothing in the early 1930s.
Gutmann creates beautiful paintings using the palette of an Impressionist, brilliant colors laid down in the bold and broad brush strokes of the Post-Impressionists. Some of his works include children in depictions of everyday life.
Hans Holbein the Younger has provided us a glimpse of a 16th century school (1516). The sign painted here was done quickly as a favor for a friend when Holbein was very young. Holbein was in fact become one of the great portraitists of all time. Hans was born in Augsburg, Germany (197/98). His father was also a painter--Hans Holbein the Elder. Hans and his brother Ambrosius learned their craft in their father's studio. Their father sent the youths to Basel to work under the directiin of Hans Herbster (1514). While in Basel, Holbein met the famed humanist--Erasmus. He would paint a masterful portrait of Erasmus. Holbein went to Luzern where he decorated the house of the magistrate (1517). He then traveled to Italy to see the work of the great Itakin Renaissance masters (1518). Holbein was accepted as a member of the painters’ guild in Basel (1519). He was by this time recognized as a master artist. He married Elsbeth Binsenstock. The Reformation and resulting fighting and dislocation affected Basel and Holbein could no longer prosper there. He decided to move to England (1526). He had letters of introduction from Erasmus. Here with is reputation he found lucrative commissions. One of his great works is the portrait of Sir Thomas Moore, at the time Lord Chancellor. Holbein died of the plague (1543).
One of his most famous paintings is Forbidden Fruit," which pictures
schoolboys smoking.
Louis Toussaint was a German artist noted for his rural genre paintngs. His name dounds French. Presumably is family was part French, but we do not yet have biograohical details. We know virtuslly nothing bout him, but note he was active in the 1850s, 60s, and 70s. Many of his rural paintings include children. The costuming looks to be somewhat idealized from the early 19th century, but country people may have dressed in these stles even in the mid-19th century. Photograph existed by the time of his paintings, but was most staid studio portraits. The genre scenes he painted could only be captured in paintings.
Another important German -speaking artist is is Ferdinand Georg whoin was born in Vienna. He mostly painted portraits, landscapes, still life and genre scenes of everyday live. Some see his genre paintings are rather unrealistically happy others appreciate the nostalgic atmoshere inhis paintings. We notice one lovely image of Christmas in Austria with the children who have just woken up and still in their night gowns are checking their shoes to see what Santa brought them.
Gottlieb Daniel Paul Weber is an important 19th century German artist. He painted under the name Paul Weber and was an especially prolific artist. He was born in Darmstadt. As a boy he developed an interest in asrt. He studied in Frankfort. By the age of 25 he traveled to the United States to Philadelphia. We do not know a lot about his work, but notice portaits incliding portraits of boys.
Theodor Leopold Weller was a very important German genre painter of the 19th century. He was pupil of P.v.Langer at the Munich Academy and later lived in Rome during 1825-1833 and 1840-1848. He also worked in Mannheim as royal painter and director of an art gallery. His speciality was Italian genre. Today his works are displayed in various German museums for example in the Reiss-Museum Mannheim. We note a portrait of a boy done in 1834 painted in oil on paperboard. Wevknow nothing about the boy, nor do we understand his out fit which includes what look like crossed sashes. I might have guessed the boy is Italian, but the date the portrait was taken do not match when Weller was in Rome.
Winterhalter painted te crown heads of Europe. He was Victoria's favorite portrait painter. He painted two of the most famous portrits used by HBC. One of course is the young Edward VII wearing a white sailor suit. Te other is of the young royal family.
We have found some unidentified paintings that we believe were done by German artists. Here the clothes or background may provide valuable clues. Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure if they are paintings by German artists. Perhaps our readers will have some thoughts on the matter.
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