Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt (30 May 1858, in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

– 29 October 1915, in

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 ...

) was a German painter, illustrator and watercolorist; noted for

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 ...

and historical scenes, most of which include horses.

Biography

He came from a family of shippers and merchants. His first painting lessons were at the "Schmidtschen Porzellanmalinstitut" (porcelain painting school) in

. He completed his education there at the Royal Arts and Crafts School and went to work for his family, trading in grain and produce, although he continued to paint in his spare time. His apprenticeship involved several stays abroad; in

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

(1874),

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

(1875/76) and

Straßburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

(1876). In 1878, he attended the Exposition Universelle in Paris. That same year, his first illustrations appeared in the magazine ''

Über Land und Meer ''Über Land und Meer'' (German: ''Over Land and Sea'') was a German illustrated news and political magazine published in Stuttgart, Germany, between 1858 and 1923. Its subtitle was ''Allgemeine illustrierte Zeitung''. History and profile ''Übe ...

'' (Over Land and Sea) and he won a Gold Medal from the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

, for his depiction of a scene from '' Wallenstein's Camp''. As a result, he decided to pursue art professionally and enrolled at the Academy, where he studied with

Gabriel von Hackl Gabriel (von) Hackl (24 March 1843 – 5 June 1926) was a German historicist painter. Life and work He was born in Maribor, Lower Styria, Austrian Empire. A surgeon's son, he attended the gymnasium in his home town and the city school in Gr ...

and

Gyula Benczúr Gyula Benczúr (28 January 1844, Nyíregyháza – 16 July 1920, Szécsény) was a Hungarian painter and art teacher. He specialized in portraits and historical scenes. Biography His family moved to Kassa when he was still very young and he d ...

. In 1882, he began private studies with Wilhelm Lindenschmit. In 1894, he married Else Amalie Fellerer (1872-1919), whose father was a

Hofrat ''Geheimrat'' was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic r ...

at the

Bavarian court The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

, and opened his own studio. He also became a member of several artistic associations, including the (Artists' Co-operative). In 1896, he joined its offshoot, the Luitpold-Gruppe, devoted to advancing modern trends. He became a Professor at the Munich Academy in 1912 and, in 1914, he was named Secretary of the "Allgemeinen Deutschen Künstler Gruppe". Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt - Die Heimkehr

Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt - Die Heimkehr

He died unexpectedly in 1915. Else married the painter

Carl von Marr Carl von Marr (February 14, 1858 – July 10, 1936) was an American-born German painter whose work encompassed religious and mythological subjects, genre, and portraits. He was also a professor of art in Munich. Biography He was born in Mi ...

the following year. He was distantly related to the aircraft designer,

Willy Messerschmitt Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt (; 26 June 1898 – 15 September 1978) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. In 1934, in collaboration with Walter Rethel, he designed the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which became the most importan ...

Sources

* Ernst Viktor Tobler, "Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt", in: ''Reclams Universum'' 32 (1916), Vol.14, pgs.829-832. *Hans Fischer, "Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt", in: ''Lebensläufe aus Franken'', 7. Vol.2, 1922, pgs.280-288. * "Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt". In:

Thieme-Becker Thieme-Becker is a German biographical dictionary of artists. Thieme-Becker The dictionary was begun under the editorship of Ulrich Thieme (1865–1922) (volumes one to fifteen) and Felix Becker (1864–1928) (volumes one to four). It was complet ...

: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart''. Vol.XXIV, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1930, pg.433.

External links

ArtNet: More works by Messerschmitt.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messerschmitt, Pius 1858 births 1915 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters German genre painters German illustrators People from Bamberg German artists

Biography

Sources

Further reading

External links