Hermann Knackfuss (; August 11, 1848,
Wissen
Wissen is a town in the Altenkirchen (district), district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg (river), Sieg, approximately 12 km northeast of Altenkirchen.
Wissen is the seat of the ''Verbandsg ...
,
Rhenish Prussia – May 17, 1915) was a German painter and writer on art. He is known for his historical paintings, but his most-recognized work is his illustration on behalf of the German Emperor
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
, ''Peoples of Europe, Guard your Dearest Goods'', which has become an iconic symbol of the use of the
yellow peril
The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror, the Yellow Menace, and the Yellow Specter) is a Racism, racist color terminology for race, color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the ...
to justify
European imperialism in Asia at the end of the nineteenth century.
Biography
Hermann Knackfuss studied at the
Düsseldorf Academy between 1869 and 1874, where he was a student of
Eduard Bendemann,
Julius Roeting
Julius Amatus Roeting (13 September 1822, in Dresden – 21 May 1896, in Düsseldorf) was an Austrian 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 l ...
, and
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� ...
. In 1870, he interrupted his studies to serve as a volunteer in the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. His illustrations of the war's progress during his service would appear in the magazine ''
Die Gartenlaube
(; ) was the first successful mass-circulation German newspaper and a forerunner of all modern magazines.Sylvia Palatschek: ''Popular Historiographies in the 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Oxford: Berghahn, 2010) p. 41 It was founded by publisher ...
''. While studying at Düsseldorf, he won the state prize in 1874, which paid for his studies at
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
from 1875 to 1878. In 1880, Knackfuss was appointed to the
Cassel Academy. Initially, he taught
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
, but from 1890 onwards he also taught
history of art
The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...
(1890).
Knackfuss primarily created historical paintings, many of which depicted events in the history of Prussia. Many of these were created for public buildings. For example, he made frescoes for the entrance hall of the Strasbourg train station. Early in his career, his paintings were characterized by a sometimes pedantic-looking realism that focused on small details such as the historical accuracy of the costumes. From around 1890, his historical works developed a more impressionist style. In addition to his historical works, Knackfuss was also a sought-after portraitist of the Prussian nobility.

In 1895, the German emperor
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
commissioned Knackfuss to create allegorical works on behalf of the emperor. One commission was ''People of Europe, Guard Your Dearest Goods'', based on a rough sketch by Wilhelm
[ that highlighted his fear of the ]yellow peril
The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror, the Yellow Menace, and the Yellow Specter) is a Racism, racist color terminology for race, color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the ...
after the end of the First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
.[ This particular political illustration was sent to Europe's political leaders, including ]Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...
,[ and it was mass-distributed through the '' Leipziger illustrirte Zeitung''.] It has become Knackfuss's most famous work.[
Knackfuss also traveled extensively to Greece, Spain, Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt, and accompanied Emperor Wilhelm II to Palestine in 1898. Knackfuss died of typhus in 1915 during ]World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
while serving as a guard at the Niederzwehren POW camp in Kassel.
Legacy
Knackfuss's role as an academic history painter and an illustrator of Prussian history was largely forgotten after 1945, especially since many of his paintings were destroyed during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Even in Germany, he now mainly known as the author of numerous art monographs, including biographies on Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Velasquez, Murillo, Rubens, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Holbein the Elder, Holbein the Younger and Albrecht Dürer.
Works
Knackfuss's paintings include:
* ''Battle of Mühldorf'' (originally belonging to Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
)
* ''Battle of Turin'', in Berlin Zeughaus
* Mural decorations for the officers' casino of the Potsdam Treppenhaus
* ''Entry of the Kaiser and Kaiserin into Jerusalem'' (1902)
* ''Holy Family'' altar picture in the Fulda Cathedral
Fulda Cathedral (, also ''Sankt Salvator'') is the former abbey church of Fulda Abbey and the burial place of Saint Boniface. Since 1752 it has also been the cathedral of the Diocese of Fulda, of which the Prince-Abbots of Fulda were created bisho ...
(1893)
* Mural decorations in the Wohlau (Silesia) gymnasium
His writings include:
* ''Deutsche Kunstgeschichte'' (“German art history,” 1888)
* Articles on Raphael, Rembrandt Rubens, Michelangelo, Dürer, Murillo, Holbein, Titian, Velazquez, Frans Hall, van Dyck, Menzel, Teniers and others, for the serial ''Kunstler-monographien'' (“Artist monographs”) published by Velhagen & Klasing
Velhagen & Klasing was a major German publishing company in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
History
Long nineteenth century
Velhagen & Klasing's first major success was the popular cookbook of Henriette Davidis from 1844 to 1875. Th ...
.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knackfuss, Hermann
1848 births
1915 deaths
19th-century German painters
19th-century German male artists
Artists from the Kingdom of Prussia
German male painters
20th-century German painters
20th-century German male artists
German non-fiction writers
German male non-fiction writers
German military personnel killed in World War I