200px, Moritz von Schwind, c. 1860. Moritz von Schwind (21 January 1804 – 8 February 1871) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n painter, born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Schwind's genius was lyrical—he drew inspiration from

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, and the songs of the people. Schwind died in

Pöcking Pöcking is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, consort of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary, grew up here in the Possenhofen Castle as daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Prin ...

in Bavaria, and was buried in the

Alter Südfriedhof The Alter Südfriedhof (''Old South Cemetery'') also known as "Alter Südlicher Friedhof" is a cemetery in Munich, Germany. It was founded by Duke Albrecht V as a plague cemetery in 1563 about half a kilometer south of the Sendlinger Ga ...

in Munich.

Life and career

Moritz von Schwind received rudimentary training and spent a happy and carefree youth in Vienna. Among his companions was the composer

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, some of whose songs he illustrated. In 1828, the year of Schubert's death, he moved to

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 ...

, where he befriended the painter Schnorr and enjoyed the guidance of Cornelius, then director of the Academy. Frankfurt, Schwindhaus, Gedenktafel

In 1834, he was commissioned to decorate

King Ludwig Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of th ...

's new palace with wall paintings illustrating the works of the poet

Tieck Tieck may refer to: *Christian Friedrich Tieck (1776–1851), German sculptor * Dorothea Tieck (1799–1841), German translator *Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), German poet ** 8056 Tieck, asteroid named after Ludwig Tieck ** Schlegel-Tieck Prize, litera ...

. He also found in the same place congenial sport for his fancy in a "Kinderfries". He was often busy working on

almanacs An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

, and on illustrating

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

and other writers through which he gained considerable recognition and employment. In the revival of art in Germany, Schwind held as his own the sphere of poetic fancy. In 1839 he was entrusted with the new Karlsruhe academy, itself an embodiment in fresco of ideas thrown out by Goethe. He decorated a villa in Leipzig with the story of

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...

, and further justified his title of poet-painter with designs from the '' Niebelungenlied'' and

Tasso TASSO (Two Arm Spectrometer SOlenoid) was a particle detector at the PETRA particle accelerator at the German national laboratory DESY. The TASSO collaboration is best known for having discovered the gluon, the mediator of the strong interaction an ...

's ''Gerusalemme'' for the walls of the castle of

Hohenschwangau Hohenschwangau is a former village and now an urban district of the municipality of Schwangau, Ostallgäu district, Bavaria, Germany. It is located between Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau and is visited by about 2 million peop ...

in Bavaria. From the year 1844 dates his residence in Frankfurt during which he created some of his finest easel pictures, most notably the "Singers' Contest" in the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...

(1846), as well as designs for the

celebration. There were also numerous book illustrations. The conceptions for the most part are better than the execution. In 1847, Schwind returned to Munich on being appointed professor in the academy. Eight years later his fame was at its height on the completion in the castle of the Wartburg of wall pictures illustrative of the "Singers' Contest" and of the history of

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...

. The compositions received universal praise, and at a grand musical festival in their honour, Schwind himself was one of the violinists. In Munich he also worked on some churches, particularly the altar and windows of the Church of Our Lady. His exceptionally mature cycle, "Seven Ravens" from

Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...

's fairy stories was produced in 1857. In the same year he visited England to report officially to King Ludwig on the Manchester art treasures. So diversified were his gifts that he turned his hand to church windows and joined his old friend Schnorr in designs for the painted glass in

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...

. Towards the close of his career, with broken health and his powers on the wane, he revisited Vienna. During this time, he created the cycle from the legend of

Melusine Mélusine () or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (much like a lamia or a mermaid). She is also s ...

and the designs commemorative of chief musicians which decorate the foyer of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

. Cornelius writes, "You have translated the joy of music into pictorial art."

Selected paintings

File:Moritz von Schwind - A Player with a Hermit - WGA21074.jpg, ''A Player with a Hermit'' (1846) File:Moritz von Schwind 002.jpg, ''Honeymoon'' (1867) File:Moritz von Schwind Der Traum des Gefangenen.jpg, ''The Dream of the Prisoner'' (1836) File:Ruebezahl (Moritz von Schwind).jpg, ''

Rübezahl Rübezahl ( pl, Liczyrzepa, Duch Gór, Karkonosz, Rzepiór, or Rzepolicz; cs, Krakonoš) is a folkloric mountain spirit ( woodwose) of the Giant Mountains (''Krkonoše'', ''Riesengebirge'', ''Karkonosze''), a mountain range along the border bet ...

'' (1845) File:1844 Schwind Sabina von Steinbach anagoria.JPG, ''Sabina of Steinbach'' (1844) File:Moritz von Schwind - Early Morning - WGA21075.jpg, ''Early Morning'', (1858) File:Moritz von Schwind - Abschied im Morgengrauen - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Farewell at Dawn'' (1859) File:1852 Schwind Aschenbroedels Aufbruch zum Ball anagoria.JPG, ''Cinderella, to go on the ball'' (1852) File:Schwind Der Besuch 1860.jpg, ''The Visit'' (1860)

Notes

References

External links

*
''German masters of the nineteenth century: paintings and drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Moritz von Schwind (no. 79-82) * * * * * Moritz von Schwind's birth house in Vienna {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwind, Moritz von 1804 births 1871 deaths Artists from Vienna 19th-century Austrian people 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters Austrian romantic painters Austrian untitled nobility Burials at the Alter Südfriedhof Romantic painters

Life and career

Selected paintings

See also

Notes

References

External links