Hermann Lungkwitz (1813–1891) was a 19th-century German-born Texas romantic landscape artist and photographer whose work became the first pictorial record of the Texas Hill Country.

Early life

Karl Friedrich Hermann Lungkwitz was born on March 14, 1813 in

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-An ...

to hosiery manufacturer Johann Gottfried Lungkwitz and his wife Friederike Wilhelmine (Hecht) Lungkwitz. Lungkwitz was enrolled 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 ...

from 1840–1843 and received his artistic training under the tutelage of

Adrian Ludwig Richter Adrian Ludwig Richter (September 28, 1803June 19, 1884) was a German painter and etcher, who was strongly influenced by Erhard and Chodowiecki. He was a representative of both Romanticism and Biedermeier styles. He was the most popular, and ...

. After receiving an academy certificate of achievement in 1843 for his sketch of the

Elbe River The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of ...

, Lungkwitz spent the next three years honing his artistic skills in

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (; ; bar, Soizkaumaguad, label=Central Austro-Bavarian) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mou ...

and the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germa ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. Lungkwitz and his brother-in-law Friedrich Richard Petri joined other students in the failed 1849

May Uprising in Dresden The May Uprising took place in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony in 1849; it was one of the last of the series of events known as the Revolutions of 1848. Events leading to the May Uprising In the German states, revolutions began in March 1848, start ...

, an event at the tail end of the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

resulting from the refusal of Frederick Augustus II to recognize a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

Texas

In 1850, the Lungkwitz and Petri families emigrated to the United States, landing first in New York City. They migrated to

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

, but decided on the destination of Texas in 1851. In 1852, the two families bought a 320-acre farm for $400 in the settlement of Pedernales, Texas near Fredericksburg and took up farming and cattle ranching. The families remained there until 1864, although Petri drowned in the

Pedernales River The Pedernales River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in Central Texas in the United States. It drains an area of the Edwards Plateau, flowing west to east across the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. The name "Peder ...

in 1857. Lungkwitz continued to create paintings of the Texas Hill Country, one of his favorite subjects being

Enchanted Rock Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain located in the Llano Uplift about north of Fredericksburg, Texas and south of Llano, Texas, United States. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, which includes Enchanted Rock and surrounding land, spans t ...

, of which he painted at least six landscapes: Split Rok on Shoal Creek, Austin

The artist created in great detail in both pencil drawings and paintings. In addition to Gillespie County vistas, his Texas subjects were the German settlements of

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...

and Sisterdale, the Hamilton Pool and West Cave at Round Mountain, Marble Falls, and areas around Austin and San Antonio. From 1866–1870, Lungkwitz ran a

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

photography studio with Carl G. von Iwonski. In 1870 he accepted an $1,800 a year appointment in Austin as photographer for the

Texas General Land Office The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School Fund ...

under commissioner

Jacob Kuechler Jacob Kuechler (1823–1893) was surveyor, conscientious objector during the Civil War, and commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. Kuechler pioneered the science of Dendrochronology to date natural events. Early life and education Jacob ...

, brother-in-law to Friedrich Richard Petri. He held the position for the entirety of the administration of Governor Edmund J. Davis. His daughter Martha Lungkwitz Bickler also received an appointment as Texas General Land Office clerk in an era where few women worked in state government. In 1877, Martha's husband

Jacob Bickler Jacob Bickler (November 29, 1849 – April 30, 1902) was a scholar, educator, and president of the Texas State Teacher's Association. He was founder of the boys' Texas German and English Academy and the co-educational Bickler Academy, both loca ...

founded the Texas German and English Academy in Austin, where Lungkwitz taught drawing and painting. Bickler became superintendent of

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

public schools in 1887, and also founded the Bickler Academy in Austin in 1892. Lungkwitz gave private lessons at both Austin and Galveston whenever he visited the Bicklers. In Blanco County, Lungkwitz assisted his daughter Eva and her husband Richard Klappenbach on their sheep ranch near Johnson City.

Personal life and death

Lungkwitz married Elisabeth "Elise" Petri, sister of Friedrich Richard Petri. The couple had six children. Elisabeth died in 1880 and is buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas. Lungkwitz died in Austin on February 10, 1891, and is buried next to his wife. Lungkwitz is the great-great-grandfather of American photographer

Rocky Schenck Rocky Schenck (born April 18, 1955) is an American photographer and music video director. Schenck has photographed several album covers and has written and directed numerous music videos and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portr ...

Hermann Lungkwitz gallery

All works are oil paintings. Dates, dimensions, and collections unknown if not provided File:Kriebstein (by Hermann Lungkwitz).jpg, ''Kriebstein Castle in Saxony Germany'', 1848 File:Halle an der Saale.jpg, ''Halle an der Saale'' File:Cemetery by a Ruined Gothic Church.jpg, ''Cemetery by a Ruined Gothic Church'' File:The Old Pinta Crossing on the Guadalupe.jpg, ''The Old Pinta Crossing on the Guadalupe'', ca. 1850s File:Alameda (by Hermann Lungkwitz).jpg, ''Alameda'' File:Hubbard Farm of Dana on Chapline Hill.jpg, ''Hubbard Farm of Dana on Chapline Hill'', 1851 File:Herons on the Pedernales River.jpg, ''Herons on the Pedernales River'', 1855 File:Guenther's Mill on Live Oak Creek.jpg, Guenther's Mill on Live Oak Creek, 1855 File:Mission San Juan de Capistrano.jpg, ''Mission San Juan de Capistrano'', 1856 File:Lewis Grist Mill.jpg, ''Lewis Grist Mill'', 1856 File:Crockett Street Looking West, San Antonio de Bexar.jpg, ''Crockett Street Looking West, San Antonio de Bexar'', 1857 File:Hermann Lungkwitz - Guadalupe River Landscape (1862).jpg, ''Hill Country Landscape'', 1862, (46.7 x 60.5 cm.), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston File:On Shoal Creek, Austin.jpg, ''On Shoal Creek, Austin'' File:Yellow Boulders on Bear Mountain.jpg, ''Yellow Boulders on Bear Mountain'' File:Texas Military Institute, Austin.jpg, ''Texas Military Institute, Austin'', 1874 File:Falls of the Colorado, Austin.jpg, ''Falls of the Colorado, Austin'', 1875 File:August Schroeter Ranch on the Colorado River.jpg, ''August Schroeter Ranch on the Colorado River'', 1882 File:Paggi's Mill on Barton Creek.jpg, ''Paggi's Mill on Barton Creek'', 1885

Selected works

*''Sunset in Saxony'' (1846) *''Old Pinta Crossing the Guadalupe'' (1857) *''Crockett Street Looking West'' (1857) *''Guadalupe River Landscape'' (1862) *''Enchanted Rock, Near Fredericksburg'' (1864) *''Texas Military Institute'' (1874) *''Taylor's Lime Kiln'' (1875) *''Paggi's Mill on Barton Creek, Austin'' (1876)

Notes

References

External links

UT-Austin Harry Ransom Center-Texas Artists—Art of the Western Frontier
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lungkwitz, Hermann 19th-century German painters 19th-century American male artists German male painters 19th-century American painters American male painters 1813 births 1891 deaths German emigrants to the United States Artists from Texas People from New Braunfels, Texas People from Austin, Texas Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) German-American culture in Texas People from Halle (Saale) Painters from Texas