Albert Baur (7 July 1835,

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

- 7 May 1906,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

) was a German painter, illustrator and engraver, associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule. He is sometimes referred to as Albert Baur the Elder, to distinguish him from his son, , who was also an artist.

Biography

He was born to a family of bankers and was originally sent to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

to study medicine. In 1854, against his parents' wishes, he quit medical school and enrolled at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...

, where he studied from 1855 to 1857. His primary instructors there were

Christian Köhler Christian Köhler (13 October 1809, Werben - 30 January 1861, Montpellier) was a German painter, associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule, although his style owes much to the Nazarene movement. Life and work While working as a groo ...

and Heinrich Mücke. He also took private lessons from

Wilhelm Sohn Johann August Wilhelm Sohn (29 August 1829, in Berlin – 16 March 1899, in Pützchen, near Bonn) was a German genre painter and art professor. Life Johann August Wilhelm Sohn was born 29 August 1829, in Berlin, Germany. In 1847, he went to ...

and . In 1860, he moved to Munich and spent two years as a student of

Moritz von Schwind image:Moritz von Schwind 2.jpg, 200px, Moritz von Schwind, c. 1860. Moritz von Schwind (21 January 1804 – 8 February 1871) was an Austrian painter, born in Vienna. Schwind's genius was lyrical—he drew inspiration from chivalry, folklore, and th ...

. In 1863, he married Marie Beuth (1841-1917) and they had four children. In 1864, he received a prize for his

matte painting A matte painting is a painting, painted representation of a landscape, set (film and TV scenery), set, or distant location that allows filmmaking, filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. H ...

s of the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

at the in

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a docu ...

. This work was commissioned by the jurist, , the father of Baur's friend and school colleague,

Heinrich Ludwig Philippi Heinrich Ludwig Philippi (9 June 1838, Kleve – 16 September 1874, Düsseldorf) was a German history painter; associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule. He was primarily known as a watercolorist. Biography His father, was a jurist and ...

, whose influence prompted him to specialize in

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

. One of his first major works depicted the body of

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

being carried across the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

to Germany. In 1872, he was named a Professor at the

Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when i ...

, but his attendance was apparently rather sporadic as he took numerous study trips throughout Europe. He returned to Düsseldorf in 1876 and lived there for the rest of his life. Among the best known works from this later period are a series of "Nischenbilder" (niche paintings) for the (Town Hall), depicting the ''Love of Art'', ''Industriousness'', ''Desire for Knowledge'' (Wissensdrang) and ''Patriotism''. Later, he added a mural showing Düsseldorf being taken over by

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

in 1609, following a royal succession dispute.''Unsere Bilder.''
In: ''Rhein und Düssel.'' Illustrierte Sonntagsbeilage zu den Düsseldorfer Neuesten Nachrichten, Nr. 1, vom 7. Januar 1906, S. 8.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baur, Albert 1835 births 1906 deaths Painters from the Kingdom of Prussia 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German history painters Artists from Aachen Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links