Ludwig Knaus (5 October 1829 – 7 December 1910) was a

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painter of the younger 7

Düsseldorf school of painting The Düsseldorf school of painting is a term referring to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy (now the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or Düsseldorf State Art Academy) during the 1830s and 1840s, when the A ...

Biography

He was born 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 ...

and studied from 1845 to 1852 under Sohn and Schadow in Düsseldorf. His early works, like ''The Gamblers'' in the Düsseldorf Gallery, are in the manner of that school, being dark and heavy in color. This deficiency was remedied by study at

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, whither he went in 1852 and enrolled as a pupil of

Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge,Wilkinson, Burke. ''The Life and Works of A ...

. In 1853 his ''Morning after the Kermess'' received the second gold Medal of the

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and made him a celebrated painter. Except for a year's study in Italy he remained in Paris until 1860.''

New International Encyclopedia ''The New International Encyclopedia'' was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the ''International Cyclopaedia'' (1884) and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926. History ''The New Intern ...

'' His chief works of this period include ''The Golden Wedding'', ''The Baptism,'' and ''The Promenade'', purchased for the Luxembourg. From 1861 to 1866 he practiced at

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, producing such works as ''Boys Playing Cards'', ''Looking for a Bride'' (Wiesbaden Museum), and ''His Highness on His Travels''. The next eight years of his life saw the production of much of his best work, including ''The Children's Festival'' (Nation Gallery, Berlin), ''In Great Distress'', and ''The Village Prince''. From 1874 to 1883 he was professor at the Royal Prussian Academy, Berlin, continuing to reside in that city until his death. Among the most important works of his last period were: ''The Holy Family'' and ''The Road to Ruin,'' both painted in 1876 and now in the

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; ''Behind the Curtain'' (1880), Dresden Gallery; ''The Rag Baby'' (1880) and ''A Village Festival'' (1881), both in the Vanderbilt collection, Metropolitan Museum, New York; and ''A Duel.'' During his last period Knaus also painted a series of “Idyls,” with nudes in a rather classical style, of which an important example is in the Wiesbaden Museum. The most famous examples of his portraits, which are genre in character, are those of the scientist

Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, ...

and the historian Mommsen, both in the National Gallery, Berlin. Among his many distinctions were the great gold medal of the Berlin Exhibition of 1861 and the grand medal of honor at the

Paris Exposition of 1867 The International Exposition of 1867 (french: Exposition universelle 'art et d'industriede 1867), was the List of world expositions, second world's fair to be held in Paris, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. A number of nations were represente ...

. Many of his works are represented at the

Museum Wiesbaden The Museum Wiesbaden is a two-branch museum of art and natural history in the Hessian capital of Wiesbaden, Germany. It is one of the three Hessian State museums, in addition to the museums in Kassel and Darmstadt. History The foundation of ...

. He was a member of the Berlin, Munich, and many other academies; an

Officer of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

and a Knight of the Prussian Order

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

. Possibly, his most famous work is ''Girl in a Field'' (1857). Engravings of his works were especially popular among the German peasantry.

Notes

References

*Pietsch, ''Künstlermonographien'' (Bielefeld, 1896) *Pietsch, in ''Die Kunst unserer Zeit'', volume xiii (Munich, 1902) *Pietsch, Berlin Photographic Society album * *

External links

*
A photographic album of Ludwig Knaus paintings
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
Ludwig Knaus' Cats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knaus, Ludwig Artists from Berlin 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German genre painters Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) 1829 births 1910 deaths Prussian Academy of Arts faculty Honorary Members of the Royal Academy Düsseldorf school of painting