Gisbert Hipolit August Flüggen (9 February 1811,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

- 3 September 1859,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) was a German

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 ...

painter. He was sometimes referred to as the "German Wilkie".

Biography

His parents moved from

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

to Cologne just before his birth. They soon became impoverished and Gisbert was forced to work for a haberdasher as soon as he was old enough to do so. He developed an interest in art and spent his few spare hours copying works at the recently established Wallrafianum (now the Wallraf-Richartz Museum). His family was opposed to his career ambitions, but he got support from a local painter named Joseph Weber (1798-1883). Thanks to an inheritance, he was able to pursue his studies at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová ...

. He spent some time in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

but, shortly after his marriage in Cologne, decided on Munich for his permanent residence. He became a member of the

Kunstverein München The Kunstverein München (km) is a non-profit art association located in the Hofgarten in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 1823 and is one of the oldest German art associations. The Kunstverein, a privately sponsored association with almost 1,3 ...

and received the patronage of

Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria ''Leopold Charles Joseph William Louis'' , image_size = , image = Luitpold Wittelsbach cropped.jpg , succession = Prince Regent of Bavaria , reign = 10 June 1886 – 12 December 1912 , reign-type = Tenure , regent = Lud ...

. His studio became a stop for sightseers. His son

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

also became a well-known painter. In 1852, he was named an honorary member of the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

. He died suddenly in 1859 and was buried at the Alter Südfriedhof. A street in the

Neuhausen-Nymphenburg Neuhausen (Central Bavarian: ''Neihausn'') and Nymphenburg are boroughs of Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria. They had been merged into the borough 09 - Neuhausen-Nymphenburg (german: Stadtbezirk 09) in 1992. For further informatio ...

district of Munich has been named after him.

Works

His best-known works include: * Hanover Museum. ''Jacob Deceiving Isaac''. 1848. * Leuchtenberg Ducal Gallery ''The Chess-players''. * Madrid Gallery. ''The Unlucky Player''. 1841. * Munich Gallery. ''The Ante-chamber of a Prince''. (His last, unfinished work.)

Sources

Attribution

* * * *

External links

Gisbert Flüggen website
home page 1811 births 1859 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters Artists from Cologne Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich German genre painters {{Germany-painter-stub