Adolph von Menzel
Leading German Realist of the 19th century
Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel was a German Realist artist noted for drawings, etchings, and paintings. Along with Caspar David Friedrich, he is considered one of the two most prominent German painters of the 19th century, and was the most successful artist of his era in Germany. First known as Adolph Menzel, he was knighted in 1898 and changed his name to Adolph von Menzel. His popularity in his native country, owing especially to his history paintings, was such that few of his major paintings left Germany, as many were quickly acquired by museums in Berlin. Menzel's graphic work (and especially his drawings) were more widely disseminated; these, along with informal paintings not initially intended for display, have largely accounted for his posthumous reputation. Although he traveled in order to find subjects for his art, to visit exhibitions, and to meet with other artists, Menzel spent most of his life in Berlin, and was, despite numerous friendships, by his own admission detached from others. It is likely that he felt socially estranged for physical reasons alone—Menzel had a large head, and stood about four foot six inches.
Relationship Network
Master student
- William Sommer Student
Influenced
Artworks by this artist
- The Berlin-Potsdam Railway 1847
- The Dinner at the Ball 1878
- Water mill 1888
- Frühstücksstunde (Familie im Kaffeehaus) 1891
- The Choirstalls in the Mainz Cathedral 1869
- Head of a Bearded Man in Half-Profile 1894
- The Antiquary – Self-Portrait 1851
- Frühmesse 1852
- The Vest of August the Strong 1840
- View into a Courtyard ca. 1880-90
- Head of an Old Man 1894
- Early morning on the night express train 1877
- The Interior of the Jacobskirche at Innsbruck 1872
- Two studies of a woman’s left arm holding a child’s hand 1893
- Dame mit Kapotthut im Gespräch mit zwei Herren
- Landschaft bei Kissingen von der Bodenlaube aus 1865
- Who goes there 1876
- Flight of Stone Steps in a Garden
- Figure Studies 1872
- Studie für ‘Flötenkonzert Friedrichs II. in Sanssouci’ circa 1852