Rudolph Friedrich Wasmann (8 August 1805,
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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– 10 May 1886,
Merano
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...
) was a German-born painter in the
Biedermeier style. He spent most of his life in a part of the
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
that is now in Italy.
Life
At the age of seventeen, he began an apprenticeship with the painter
Christoffer Suhr. Then, after several years of study at the
Dresden Academy of Fine Arts
The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institution is the produc ...
and the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...
, he spent two years in Merano. From 1832 to 1835 he lived in Rome, where he came under the influence of
Friedrich Overbeck,
Joseph Anton Koch
Joseph Anton Koch (27 July 1768 – 12 January 1839) was an Austrian painter of Neoclassicism and later the German Romantic movement; he is perhaps the most significant neoclassical landscape painter.
Biography
The Tyrolese painter was born i ...
, and other members of the
Nazarene movement
The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...
. He eventually converted to Catholicism.
After six more years spent in Merano and
Bolzano
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
, where he worked as a portrait painter, he returned to Hamburg, where he was introduced to his future wife, Emilie Krämer. They married in 1846
and went to live with her step-mother back in Merano. In addition to portraits, he produced landscapes and religiously-themed works in Nazarene style as well as a popular autobiography.
Many of his works are on display at the
Kunsthalle Hamburg
The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. The museum consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaa ...
. A street in the Barmbek-Nord district is named after him.
His son was the
Jesuit priest and
entomologist,
Erich Wasmann
Erich Wasmann (29 May 1859 in Merano − 27 February 1931 in Valkenburg, Netherlands) was an Austrian (born in South Tyrol) entomologist, specializing in ants and termites, and Jesuit priest. He described the phenomenon known as Wasmannian m ...
.
References
Autobiography
* ''Ein deutsches Künstlerleben, von ihm selbst geschildert''. Edited by Bernt Grønvold, Verlagsanstalt F. Bruckmann Aktien-Gesellschaft (1896), "Popular edition" by Insel-Verlag (1915)
Further reading
* ''Friedrich Wasmann und vier andre deutsche Meister seiner Zeit''. Ausstellungskatalog 1922. Mit einer Einführung von Hans Wolff, Hegner u. Päßler, Dresden 1922
* ''Friedrich Wasmann, Sein Leben und Werk''. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Malerei des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts von Peter Nathan, F. Bruckmann Verlag, München 1954
* Hans Eckstein
''Ausstellungsrezension Sammlung Bernt Grönvold in der Ludwigsgalerie München''in: Kunst und Künstler; illustrated monthly for the fine arts and crafts, Vol.30, 1931
External links
ArtNet: More works by WasmannTirolerland TV: Der Maler Friedrich Wasmann(video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasmann, Friedrich
1805 births
1886 deaths
German male painters
Portrait painters
Nazarene movement
19th-century German painters
19th-century German male artists