Max Volkhart (17 October 1848,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

- 1924, Düsseldorf) was a German

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

painter and etcher; associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule. He was heavily influenced by the

Dutch Masters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

and many of his works are set in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Biography

His father was the history painter , who was his first teacher. Later, he followed his father's example and enrolled at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...

, where he studied with

Heinrich Lauenstein Heinrich Lauenstein (26 September 1835, Hüddessum, near Hildesheim - 16 May 1910, Düsseldorf) was a German painter and art professor; associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule. He specialized in portraits, many of them of children, and religi ...

, Andreas Müller and

Julius Roeting Julius Amatus Roeting (13 September 1822, in Dresden – 21 May 1896, in Düsseldorf) was a German painter. Biography He displayed artistic talent while still very young and, at the age of twelve, helped create a painting of a lion on a loca ...

, whose daughter, Anna, he would later marry. Afterwards, he took private lessons from

Eduard von Gebhardt Franz Karl Eduard von Gebhardt (13 June 1838 – 3 February 1925) was a Baltic German painter of portraits and historical scenes, and a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Biography He was born to Ferdinand Theodor von Gebhardt (1803� ...

. His first major painting, "The Wounded at

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 u ...

" was inspired by the Franco-Prussian War and was later acquired by Kaiser

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

. This period was followed by an extended trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, where he focused on studies from nature. In 1881 at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, he presented a

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

depicting the victory of

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

over the Spaniards at the

Battle of Nieuwpoort The Battle of Nieuwpoort, was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. The Anglo-Dutch companies met the Spanish veterans head on which, although their left flank nearly broke, we ...

. In 1883, he became a member of the "" (Rowing association), which had a boathouse in the harbor next to the Kunstakademie, and participated in numerous rowing competitions with some of his fellow artists. He was also a member of "

Malkasten Malkasten (English: "Paintbox") is a progressive German artists' association, founded in Düsseldorf in 1848, during the March Revolution. Since 1867, their headquarters have been in the Pempelfort district. History During the unrest in 1848, ...

", a progressive artists' association that grew out of the

Revolution 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 ...

. He participated in many of their regular festivities, which included an annual masked ball, and directed their "Doppelhochzeitsfeier" (Double wedding) in 1898.Doppelhochzeitsfeier
brochure @

University of Düsseldorf A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

In his later years, he apparently faded into obscurity, as the exact date of his death seems to have been unrecorded and several sources give his year of death as 1935, rather than 1924.

Selected paintings

File:Volkhart-Voice.jpg, His Master's Voice File:Volkhart-Visit.jpg, The Surprise Visit File:Max Volkhart Beim Notar.jpg, The Notary File:Max Volkhart - Two friends.jpg, Two Friends File:Good News.jpg, Good News

References

* Hans Paffrath, Martina Sitt and Imke Valentien (eds.) ''Lexikon der Düsseldorfer Malerschule'', Bruckmann, 1998
Biographical notes
from ''Europas konstnärer'' @

Projekt Runeberg Project Runeberg ( sv, Projekt Runeberg) is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded ...

External links

ArtNet: More works by Volkhart.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkhart, Max 1848 births 1924 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German genre painters Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni History painters Artists from Düsseldorf