Otto Heinrich Mengelberg (April 1817,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

- 28 May 1890,

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 ...

) was a German religious, portrait, and history painter, associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule.

Life and work

He was the second son of the portrait painter,

Egidius Mengelberg Egidius Mengelberg (8 April 1770, Cologne - 26 October 1849, Cologne) was a German portrait painter, interior designer and art teacher. Life and work His family was originally from Linz am Rhein, where it can be traced back to the 16th cent ...

and his wife, Anne Lisette née Risse, of Elberfeld. His birth came a few months after their formal marriage, which was delayed due to her parents' objections to marrying a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. After attending the

Dreikönigsgymnasium The Dreikönigsgymnasium ("Tricoronatum", meaning "Three Kings School", sometimes called in English the College of the Three Crowns) is a regular public Gymnasium (school), Gymnasium located in Cologne, Germany. Founded in 1450 by the city of Colo ...

, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

school, he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1834 to 1842. His primary instructors were

Karl Ferdinand Sohn Karl Ferdinand Sohn (10 December 1805 in Berlin – 25 November 1867 in Cologne) was a German painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography He was born in Berlin and started his studies at the age of eighteen under Wilhelm von Schad ...

and Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow. During that time, in 1840, he converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. Upon graduating, he went to Munich with his friend and colleague,

Joseph Fay Joseph Fay may refer to: * Joseph Fay (artist), German painter and illustrator * Joseph Fay (politician), American politician, militia officer, and businessman in Vermont See also * Joseph S. Fay Shipwreck Site {{hndis, Fay, Joseph ...

; returning to Cologne in 1844. Later, he assisted Fay in painting the Elberfeld Town Hall; which is now the

Von der Heydt Museum The Von der Heydt Museum is a museum in Wuppertal, Germany. The Von der Heydt Museum includes works by artists from the 17th century to the present time. History The museum is housed in the former city hall of Elberfeld, which in 1902 became a ...

. He and Fay also collaborated on the designs for the restoration of the windows at the Basilica of St. Cunibert. In 1848, he went to Düsseldorf, to hold an exhibition, and settled there permanently. There, he focused on religious scenes and altarpieces, inspired by the aesthetics of the Nazarene movement. His commitment to providing what he felt were the proper forms of art for Protestant churches culminated in a lecture he presented in 1851 at an Elberfeld church congress. In it, he derided the decorations in Catholic churches since the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

as "digusting and Jesuitical", and criticized Protestants for being indifferent to the issue. With the goal of rectifying that situation, he proposed creating an "Association for Religious Art in the Protestant Church". After a lively discussion, the conference members voted to establish an evangelical art association.Otto Mengelberg: "Die bildende Kunst in der evangelische Kirche", In: ''Fliegende Blätter aus dem Rauhen Hause zu Horn bei Hamburg. Organ des Centralausschusses für die innere Mission der deutschen evangelischen Kirche'', Series VIII, Nr. 28, December 1851, pp.372 ff.
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. He also gave private lessons; mostly to Protestant Scandinavian artists. His best-known students include

Peter Nicolai Arbo Peter Nicolai Arbo (18 June 1831 – 14 October 1892) was a Norwegian historical painter, who specialized in portraits and allegorical scenes from Norwegian history and the Norse mythology. He is most noted for ''The Wild Hunt of Odin'', a d ...

, Johanne Mathilde Dietrichson,

Alexandra Frosterus-Såltin Alexandra Theodora Frosterus-Såltin (6 December 1837, Ingå – 29 February 1916, Vaasa) was a Finnish-Swedish genre painter and illustrator, who is also known for her altarpieces. Biography Her father, Benjamin, was a theology professor and ...

Erik Johan Löfgren Erik Johan Löfgren (15 May 1825, Turku - 10 December 1884, Turku) was a Finnish-Swedish portrait painter. Biography He was born to a family of merchants. His first art lessons came from a Norwegian-born drawing teacher named T.J. Legler who, t ...

and

Victorine Nordenswan Victorine Nordenswan (1838—1872) was a Finnish painter in the Düsseldorf tradition, specialising in religious themes, and notable as one of the first professional female artists of Finland. Visual art in the mid-19th century was male-domina ...

References

External links

"Otto Mengelberg"
brief biography @ Stiftung Sammlung Volmer {{DEFAULTSORT:Mengelberg, Otto 1817 births 1890 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German history painters Religious painters Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Artists from Cologne

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links