Karl Hagemeister (12 March 1848 in Werder – 5 August 1933 in Werder) was a German

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

Life

He was the son of a fruit grower and developed an early interest in nature from the forested, watery surroundings of his birthplace. He trained as a teacher in Köpenick, then went to teach elementary school in Berlin,Hagemeister Archiv and Werkverzeichnis: Chronology
/ref> where he caught the attention of landscape painter

Ferdinand Bellermann Ferdinand Konrad Bellermann (14 March 1814, in Erfurt – 11 August 1889, in Berlin) was a German painter and naturalist, who specialized in scenes of Venezuela.Hernández Caballero, Serafín (Editor). (1998): ''Gran Enciclopedia de Venezuela''. ...

, who saw him at work in

Schönhausen Palace Schönhausen Palace (german: Schloss Schönhausen) is a Baroque palace at Niederschönhausen, in the borough of Pankow, Berlin, Germany. It is surrounded by gardens through which the Panke river runs. The palace is maintained by the Prussian Pa ...

park.Havelländische Malerkolonie: Brief biography
/ref> Bellermann convinced Hagemeister to give up his plans to become a drawing teacher and be an artist instead, helping him to obtain a position in the studios of Friedrich Preller. From 1871 to 1873, he received classically oriented training at Preller's

Weimar Princely Free Drawing School The Weimar Princely Free Drawing School (german: Fürstliche freie Zeichenschule Weimar) was an art and literature educational establishment. It was set up in 1776 in Weimar by the scholar and ducal private-secretary Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1747� ...

, where he was introduced to Philipp Otto Runge's ''Farbenkugel'' and Goethe's ''

Theory of Colours ''Theory of Colours'' (german: Zur Farbenlehre, links=no) is a book by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about the poet's views on the nature of colours and how these are perceived by humans. It was published in German in 1810 and in English in 1840 ...

'', both of which would heavily influence his thinking on the subject. Schuch Bildnis Karl Hagemeister (1)

Beginning in 1873, he embarked on a long series of study trips, during which he became friends with Carl Schuch and, later, with

Wilhelm Trübner Wilhelm Trübner (February 3, 1851 – December 21, 1917) was a German realist painter of the circle of Wilhelm Leibl. Biography Trübner was born in Heidelberg. He was the third son of a silver- and goldsmith, Johann Georg Trübner, and h ...

. The three spent a year studying the Old Masters in the Netherlands, then Hagemeister went on to Italy, where he remained until 1876, when he returned to Werder. Later, he would travel throughout Germany seeking subject matter and gradually began to include figures in his landscapes, employing maids and farmers as models. In 1884, Schuch persuaded Hagemeister to accompany him on a trip to Paris, where they both received their first exposure to the

Barbizon School The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

. Unfortunately, this trip also ended their friendship; apparently because Schuch was jealous of the faster stylistic progress that Hagemeister was making.

Later career

Back in Werder, Hagemeister increasingly gave up his oil paints and began to work with

oil pastel An oil pastel is a painting and drawing medium formed into a stick which consists of pigment mixed with a binder mixture of non-drying oil and wax. They differ from other pastel sticks which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, an ...

chunks. Although he never formally became an art teacher at any academy, he never rejected anyone who sought out his artistic advice. He later became one of the founding members of the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

. In 1912, he gave private art lessons to seventeen-year-old Prince Friedrich Leopold, at the Prince's request. He exhibited extensively and, in 1913, was awarded the Bavarian "Order of Merit for Sciences and Arts". The following year, he was named a "Royal Prussian Professor" (a largely ceremonial title that did not involve any teaching). Two years later, he became ill, possibly from lead poisoning from the paints he used, and gave up painting.Anja Möller: ''Karl Hagemeister – von Werder bis Lohme'', Edition A.B.Fischer, Berlin 2006, . Most of what he had earned disappeared in the hyper-inflation following World War I. In 1923, he was named a member of the Academy of Arts. He never fully recovered from his illness and died while living with his brother at the family farmhouse.

Selected paintings

File:Karl Hagemeister Mohnfeld.jpg, Poppy Field (1875) File:Karl Hagemeister Landschaft mit Windmühle c1880.jpg, Landscape with Windmill (c.1880) File:Karl Hagemeister Teich in der Mark.jpg, Pond in the Borderland (1902) File:Hagemeister2.jpg, Waves in a Storm (1915)

Writings

* ''Carl Schuch. Sein Leben und seine Werke'' (Carl Schuch, His Life and His Work), Cassirer, Berlin 1913 * '' Kleine Selbstbiographie'' (Short Autobiography), Werder, 1928

References

External links