Johann Michael Voltz (16 October 1784 in

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was b ...

– 17 April 1858 in

) was a German painter, graphic artist and political cartoonist.

Biography

His father was a schoolteacher. He studied with the engraver and art dealer Friedrich Weber in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

. His drawings and graphic prints brought him to the attention of the court painter. After completing his education he was employed by Herzberg, an academic bookstore in Augsburg, where he created popular prints. In 1809, after a brief stay in

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 ...

, he joined the firm of picture book publisher Friedrich Campe (1777-1846) in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, for which he worked until his death. In total, his oeuvre includes about 5000 drawings and etchings, which he created for Campe and several other art publishers in Augsburg and Nuremberg, including , and Georg Ebner. He focused on illustrations of battles and other historical events, such as "

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

at the Diet of Worms", as well as events of his own time - the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the German War of Liberation against Napoleon, and later the Greek War of Independence. In 1828 he made a series of drawings on

children's games This is a list of games that used to be played by children, some of which are still being played today. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games but do include games which require props such as hopscotch ...

. He was also known as a prominent German

political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curre ...

of the early 19th Century. His cartoons, directed against Napoleon Bonaparte, are still reproduced in present-day history books. His depiction of the 1819 anti-Semitic

Hep-Hep riots The Hep-Hep riots from August to October 1819 were pogroms against Ashkenazi Jews, beginning in the Kingdom of Bavaria, during the period of Jewish emancipation in the German Confederation. The antisemitic communal violence began on August 2, ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

is often reproduced in articles and books about anti-Semitism in general. He was the father of the animal and landscape painters,

Friedrich Voltz Johann Friedrich Voltz (31 October 1817, Nördlingen - 25 June 1886, Munich) was a German landscape and animal painter of the Munich School. Life Voltz received his first art instruction from his father, Johann Michael Voltz, a painter and en ...

, and Ludwig Gustav Voltz.

Selected works

File:Schreiber Hotzenstube 2.jpg, Interior of a home in

Hauenstein Hauenstein is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate forest, approximately 20 km east of Pirmasens, and 20 km west of Landau. Hauenstein is the seat of the ''Ver ...

Image:Hep Hep Krawalle 1819.jpg, Voltz's depiction of the 1819 anti-Jewish

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

File:Bodleian Libraries, Das fürchterliche Raubnest- oder Die Ruine der grossen Kaiserburg der Universalmonarchen.jpg, The Predatory Nest File:Ebner Schlittenfahrt.PNG, Sleigh Ride

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voltz, Johann Michael 19th-century German painters 19th-century male artists German male painters German cartoonists German people of the Napoleonic Wars 1784 births 1858 deaths People from Nördlingen