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August Matthias Hagen (23 February 1794 - 2 December 1878) was a Baltic German painter and graphic artist. He specialized in landscapes and cityscapes with figures.
His father was a mill operator. Originally, he was apprenticed to be a carpenter but, while at a private boarding school, began to show some talent for drawing. Unfortunately, due to a childhood accident aggravated by a later illness, he was almost blind in one eye.
This had little effect on his artistic ability, apparently, because in 1810, on the recommendation of a local nobleman, he became a journeyman painter in Tartu. However, that did not turn out as planned, as he did more manual labor than learning. The following year, he began work in the graphics studio of
from the University of Tartu Library. In 1820, on the advice of Senff, he decided to go to Germany to sharpen his skills. Sailing to Lübeck, he travelled on foot to Berlin, Dresden, Prague and Vienna. He later took extended hikes through Switzerland and Italy, as far as Rome, keeping detailed diaries and making a huge number of sketches. Four years later, after getting married in
Drawings and engravings
from the Kumu, Tallinn {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, August Matthias 1794 births 1878 deaths People from Valka Municipality People from Kreis Walk Baltic-German people Estonian painters Landscape painters
Life
His father was a mill operator. Originally, he was apprenticed to be a carpenter but, while at a private boarding school, began to show some talent for drawing. Unfortunately, due to a childhood accident aggravated by a later illness, he was almost blind in one eye.
This had little effect on his artistic ability, apparently, because in 1810, on the recommendation of a local nobleman, he became a journeyman painter in Tartu. However, that did not turn out as planned, as he did more manual labor than learning. The following year, he began work in the graphics studio of Karl August Senff
Karl August Senff (12 March 1770 – ) was a Baltic German painter, engraver and teacher. He is best known for his etchings of famous German and Baltic German military figures in service to the Imperial Russian Army. He served as professor of ...
, who taught painting and engraving at the University of Dorpat.Brief biographyfrom the University of Tartu Library. In 1820, on the advice of Senff, he decided to go to Germany to sharpen his skills. Sailing to Lübeck, he travelled on foot to Berlin, Dresden, Prague and Vienna. He later took extended hikes through Switzerland and Italy, as far as Rome, keeping detailed diaries and making a huge number of sketches. Four years later, after getting married in
Passau
Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.
Passau's popu ...
, he returned to Tartu, where he worked as a drawing teacher at a boys' school. His best known works, a series of aquatints commemorating the anniversary of the reopening of the University, date from this period. He then taught at a girls' school from 1829 to 1832. After that, once again taking to the road, he painted scenes throughout Estonia and on islands in the Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
.
In 1837, following a successful exhibition in Saint Petersburg, he was designated a "free artist" by the Imperial Academy of Arts and, the following year, succeeded his mentor Senff as Professor of drawing at the University of Tartu. He held that position until 1851, when he was forced to retire due to increasingly poor eyesight. Three years later he gave up painting. Not wishing to remain idle, he discovered that his sight was still good enough to take up photography and his small salon became very popular.
His daughter, Julie Wilhelmine, also became a well-known painter who married the astronomer, Ludwig Schwarz.
References
Further reading
* Epp Preem, from "Sechs deutschbaltische Künster". ''August Mattias Hagen (1794—1878). Reisetagebucher des Künstlers aus den 1820—1821'' (Travel diaries), Kuus Baltisaksa Kunstnikku (2008) * Sirje Helme, Jaak Kangilaski: ''Lühike Eesti kunsti ajalugu.'' (Brief History of Estonian Art) Tallinn 1999,External links
*Drawings and engravings
from the Kumu, Tallinn {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, August Matthias 1794 births 1878 deaths People from Valka Municipality People from Kreis Walk Baltic-German people Estonian painters Landscape painters