Hermann von Kaulbach (26 July 1846 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

– 9 December 1909 in Munich) was a German painter of the

Munich School Munich School ( el, Σχολή του Μονάχου) is the name given to a group of painters who worked in Munich or were trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich (german: Münchner Akademie der Bildenden Künste) between 1850 and 19 ...

Life

Kaulbach was the son of painter

Wilhelm von Kaulbach Wilhelm von Kaulbach (15 October 18057 April 1874) was a German painter, noted mainly as a muralist, but also as a book illustrator. His murals decorate buildings in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography E ...

. He was originally a medical student at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

but, perhaps inspired by his father, quit school to study painting instead. In 1867, he became a student of

Karl von Piloty Karl Theodor von Piloty (1 October 1826 – 21 July 1886) was a German painter, noted for his historical subjects, and recognised as the foremost representative of the realistic school in Germany. Life and work Piloty was born in Munich. His fa ...

. Under his influence, Kaulbach devoted himself almost entirely to historical themes. Ultimately though, he became best known for his portraits of children. He made two study trips to Rome, in 1880 and 1891. In 1886, he was appointed a Professor of History Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. In 1906 he published a picture book, with children as the motif, that sold 135,000 copies. He was married to Sophie Schroll, the daughter of an engraver, and they had three children.Gertrude Quast-Benesch: ''Anton Bruckner in München''. Hrsg.: Anton-Bruckner-Institut Linz. H. Schneider, 2006, , S. 196 Many of his works are on display at the Museum in

Bad Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, ''Bad'' being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and ...

(his father's birthplace).Museum Bad Arolsen
/ref> His letters and other papers are in the collection of the German Literature Archive (part of the

Museum of Modern Literature The Museum of Modern Literature (german: Literaturmuseum der Moderne, LiMo) is part of the German Literature Archive () in Marbach am Neckar, Germany. The museum won its architect the Stirling Prize in 2007. Designed by British architect David C ...

) in

Marbach am Neckar Marbach am Neckar is a town about 20 kilometres north of Stuttgart. It belongs to the district of Ludwigsburg, the Stuttgart region and the European metropolitan region of Stuttgart. Marbach is known as the birthplace of Friedrich Schiller, to ...

.Ingrid Kussmaul: ''Die Nachlässe und Sammlungen des Deutschen Literaturarchivs Marbach''. Verzeichnisse, Berichte, Informationen, Bd. 23. Deutsche Schillergesellschaft, Marbach am Neckar 1999 He is buried in the Alter Südfriedhof in Munich.

Criticism

Although his work was generally well received, he was occasionally criticized for giving too much attention to detail, while missing the significance of the painting's main subject. His portrait of

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

created a controversy because it was considered "too lewd", and his version of the ''Coronation of St.Elizabeth by Emperor Frederick II'' was dismissed by some critics as "costume painting".

Major works

* "Hansel und Gretel bei der Hexe" (Hansel and Gretel with the Witch; 1872, in the Municipal Gallery,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

) * "Mozarts Letzte Tage" (Mozart's Last Days; 1878, in the Municipal Gallery, Vienna) * Portrait of

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

, (1885, in the Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseum – Schlossmuseum,

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

) * "Krönung der heiligen Elisabeth durch Kaiser Friedrich II" (Coronation of St.Elisabeth by Emperor Frederick II; 1886, in the Museum at

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

)Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon
/ref> * "An der Grabstätte des Freundes" (At the Tomb of a Friend; 1888, in the

Neue Pinakothek The Neue Pinakothek (, ''New Pinacotheca'') is an art museum in Munich, Germany. Its focus is European Art of the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is one of the most important museums of art of the nineteenth century in the world. Together with th ...

, Munich)

Publications

* Hermann Kaulbach: ''Bilderbuch. Mit 45 Bildern von Professor Hermann Kaulbach in München und einem Porträt des Künstlers'' (Text by Adelheid Stier), Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, First Edition, 1906

References

External links