Adolph Menzel - part 8

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 19^th 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 - 7 also.

This is part 8 of a 10-part series on the works of Adolph Menzel:

1877 Study of a kneeling worker
carpenter's pencil

1878 Study for The Dinner at the Ball
pen and ink
Private Collection

1878 The Dinner at the Ball
oil on canvas 71 x 90 cm
Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin

1879 Julius Krauskopf
graphite on paper 20 x 12.5 cm

1880 Atlases on the Wallpavillon of the Dresden Zwinger
graphite with stumping, on wove paper with a ribbed or laid pattern sheet 32.3 x 24.4 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1880 Corpus Christi
procession in Hofgastein
oil on canvas 51.3 x 70.2 cm
Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany

1880 Der Spaziergänger (Le Promeneur)
wood engraving 13.1 x 19 cm
© The Trustees of the British Museum, London

1880 Die Neuzeit
book illustration, plate 4
wood engraving 24.9 x 16.8 cm
© The Trustees of the British Museum, London

1880 Procession in Hofgastein
oil on canvas 51.3 x 70.2 cm
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek München

1880 Study of a man in a hat, from behind
graphite
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1880-90c Old documents in a chest
graphite 20.9 x 12.8 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany

c1880-90 View into a courtyard
graphite 20.8 x 12.9 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1881 Sermon in the Parish Church in Innsbruck
gouache 42 x 28.6 cm
Private Collection

1881 Study of a bearded man
graphite 20.4 x 12.4 cm

1882-84c Head studies
graphite
RISD Museum, Providence, RI

1882-86 Vignette to "Studies on German Literature"
etching 7 x 12 cm

1883 A man reading and a sketch of his hands
charcoal on paper 22.9 x 14.6 cm
Private Collection

1883 At the Beer Garden
gouache on paper 13.5 x 17.9 cm
Museum Georg Schäfer - Schweinfurt, Germany

1883 Owl in a thicket
gouache 29 x 17.1 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany

1883-4 Portrait of a peasant woman
charcoal and graphite on paper 19.5 x 12.5 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1884 Camel Driver at Partenkirchen
gouache 32 x 40 cm
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

1884 Head of a bearded man
graphite on paper 19.7 x 12.6 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1884 Head of a bearded man
graphite on paper 17.5 x 10.5 cm

1884 Piazza d’Erbe in Verona
oil on canvas 73.5 x 127 cm
Galerie Neue Meister, Dresden, Germany

1884 Spa visitor drinking
charcoal on paper 22.4 x 14.7 cm

1884 Two studies of a right hand
carpenter's pencil with stumping 18.1 x 11.1 cm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA

1884 Woman playing the piano, study for 'Matinée'
graphite
Private Collection

c1884 Head of an Italian
charcoal on laid paper 12 x 20.5 cm

c1884 Study for 'Contribution'
carpenter's pencil with stumping 22.9 x 15.2 cm
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, UK

1885 Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen
graphite with stumping 12.3 x 19.5 cm
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

1885 Japanese Painter
gouache 18 x 14 cm
Private Collection

1885 Lady walking by a fountain in the Kissingen Spa Garden
gouache 18 x 11.8 cm
Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, Warsaw, Poland

1885 Peasant from Interlaken
graphite on wove paper 17.9 x 11.7 cm
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia

1885 Portrait of a bearded man
graphite with stumping on tan wove paper 19.2 x 15.8 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1885 Portrait of a bearded man in profile
pencil on paper 22.5 x 14.7 cm

1885 Sleeping man
oil on paper mounted on board 37 x 52.3 cm
Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany

c1885-90 Study of a tree
graphite on wove paper 18.3 x 11.5 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

c1885 Mountainous landscape
graphite with stumping on paper 12.9 x 20.6 cm

1886 A man's head
graphite 20.9 x 12.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

1886 Figure study
graphite on paper 21 x 12.5 cm

1886 Head of a man looking right
charcoal and stumping 18 x 11.5 cm

1886 Head of a young woman seen from below
graphite with stumping 19.9 x 12.6 cm
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

1886 Japanese artist at work
graphite on paperboard 37.2 x 51.3 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1886 Illustrationen zu den Werken Friedrichs des Grossen
Illustrations to the works of Frederick the Great:

About the military since its introduction until the end of the government of Frederick William
Elector Albrecht Achilles in the fight against invading armed men.

Elector Frederick II. Incarnated, standing between two old Polish Princes on the right, who offer him the Royal Crown of Poland, and the Pope on the left who offers him the Crown of Bohemia