The German painter, etcher and lithographer Adolph von Menzel (1815-1905) ranks alongside Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) as one of the most innovative figures in German Art of the 19th Century. However, unlike Friedrich, who believed deeply in the romantic power of nature, Menzel believed in Realism and strove for an objective, true-to-life representation of the world. A master of drawing and various types of print-making, as well as realist painting, he created over 10,000 paintings, drawings and fine art prints, including 400 illustrations for the life of Emperor Frederick the Great. His canvases - including history paintings and genre scenes, as well as portraits - are typically well researched, acutely observant and highly detailed. His palette, treatment of light and overall style - as exemplified for instance by Living Room with the Artist's Sister (1847, Bavarian State Art Collection, Neue Pinakothek, Munich) pre-dated French Impressionism by twenty five years. Menzel now ranks alongside the best modern artists of 19th century Germany.
For full biographical notes on Adolph Menzel see part 1. For earlier works by Menzel see parts 1 - 4 also.
This is part 5 of a 10-part series on the works of Adolph Menzel:
1854 The Magic of the White Rose
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| c1851 Costume study of a seated woman, the artist's sister Emilie pastel on brown paper Oskar Reinhart Foundation, Winterthur |
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| 1852 Christ as a boy in the Temple lithograph 42.7 x 57.5 cm (image) Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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| 1852 Frederick the Great and General Fouqué oil on canvas 34 x 26.5 cm Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Warsaw, Poland |
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| 1852 Frederick the Great and the dancer Barbarina oil on canvas 34 x 26 cm Private Collection |
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| 1852 Infant Christ surrounded by the doctors lithograph in two colours on chine collé 43.5 x 57.7 cm © The Trustees of the British Museum, London |
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| 1852 Studio Wall oil on canvas 61 x 44 cm Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| 1852 William Shakespeare etching 31.8 x 24.8 cm (image) Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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| c1852-55 Church interior with woman at prayer, before a Rococo iron grille oil on board 25.8 x 33.5 cm Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, Germany |
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| c1852 Art lover in front of "The Flute Concert" by Manzel pastel 25.9 x 16.5 cm Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1853 Head of a man seen in profile pastel on paper |
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| 1853 Portrait of Lorenz Gocozzo aged 13 black pencil and stumping on paper 20.2 x 12.8 cm |
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| 1853 Study of a church and farmhouse charcoal and stumping, with touches of pencil 26.3 x 37.2 cm |
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| 1854 Clara Schumann and Josep Joachim in concert coloured chalk 27 x 33 cm Private Collection |
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| 1854 Presentation of rewards in Lustgarten after the Night Carrousel in 1750 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Richard Menzel posing in eighteenth-century costume graphite with stumping, heightened with yellow, on brown laid paper 29.5 x 16.5 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| 1855 Early Mass in a Salzburg church oil on canvas 58.4 x 68.3 cm Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria |
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| 1855 Head of a worker wearing a cap oil on canvas mounted on wood panel 35 x 27 cm Private Collection |
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| 1855 Head study oil on paper Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany |
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| 1855 Recollection of Paris pastel 29.3 x 39.1 cm Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany |
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| 1855 The Allegiance of the Silesian Diet before Frederick II in Breslau oil on canvas 98 x 136 cm Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| c1855-60 Looking at the Moon gouache over pencil on paper 31.9 x 19.5 cm Private Collection |
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| c1855 Moonlight over the Friedrichsgracht in the old Berlin oil on canvas 39.5 x 33 cm © Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| 1856 Policeman and lady in the Tuileries Gardens oil on board 23 x 19 cm Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1856 The Théâtre du Gymnase oil on canvas 62 x 46 cm Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| 1856 Upturned teapot oil on canvas 32.5 x 40.5 cm |
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| 1857 The meeting of Frederick II and Joseph II in Neisse in 1769 oil on canvas 247 x 318 cm Berlin State Museums, Germany |
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| 1858 After the torchlight procession, extinguishing of torches on the Dönhoffplatz, Berlin oil on canvas 55.5 x 73.5 cm Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1859 Man yawning in a train compartment pastel 23 x 18 cm Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1859 Students' torchlight procession oil on board 31 x 54 cm Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| c1859-60 Study of a model for an Officer graphite 32.2 x 24.4 cm Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1859-61 Frederick the Great and his Marshals before the Battle of Leuthen oil on canvas 424 x 318 cm © Prestel Verlag / Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| 1860 A Coat oil on board 26.5 x 17.8 cm Private Collection |
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| 1860 Study of a Prussian Officer, half-length, from the rear graphite on paper 27.7 x 14.9 cm The Morgan Library & Museum, New York |
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| 1860 The end of the evening gouache 20 x 32 cm Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA |
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| 1860 Two builders at work gouache 36 x 22 cm Museum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg, Germany |
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| 1861 A bald-headed Jew with a beard pastel and gouache on paper mounted on card 43.5 x 31.4 cm Private Collection |
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| 1861 Crown Prince Frederick pays a visit to the painter Pesne on his scaffold at Rheinsberg gouache on paper mounted on board 24 x 32 cm Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1861 Portrait of a man in Renaissance costume chalk on paper 44.5 x 31.5 cm Private Collection |
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| 1861 The Coronation of King William I at Königsberg (study) gouache 22.5 x 29 cm Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1861 The Coronation of King William I at Königsberg (study) oil on canvas 74.5 x 100 cm Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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| 1861 The Coronation of Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, Königsberg oil on canvas? |
1854 The Magic of the White Rose
The festival that was called "The Magic of the White Rose" was held in Potsdam on July 13 1829 and was dedicated to the birthday of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Charlotta, the elder daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luisa, having adopted Orthodox religion in Russia got the name Alexandra Feodorovna and in 1817 married brother of the Russian Emperor Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich (Russian Emperor since 1826).
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| 1854 Title-Page watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Ball in the New Palace 1829 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Entrance of the Knights at Festival "The Magic of the White Rose" in 1829 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Entrance of the Knights with naked swords. 1829 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Festival in the Theatre of the New Palace. 1829 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Night Carrousel under the leadership of Frederick the Great in 1750 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Presentation of Rewards in Lustgarten after the Night Carrousel in 1750 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Presentation of Rewards to the Participants of the Festival 1829 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1854 Tournament in Magdeburg in 1928 watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| Festive Procession and Tournament in Berlin in 1592 under the Leadership of Johann Georg of Branderburg watercolour and gouache over graphite on Bristol paper 44.5 x 56.9 cm The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |