Anton Dietrich (27 May 1833 – 4 August 1904) was a

German painter This is a list of German painters. A > second column was into info box --> * Hans von Aachen (1552–1615) * Aatifi (born 1965) * Karl Abt (1899–1985) * Tomma Abts (born 1967) * Andreas Achenbach (1815–1910) * Oswald Achenbach (182 ...

who focused on

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, particularly

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

Biography

Born in

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

, Dietrich joined the

Dresden Academy of Fine Arts The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German language, German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institutio ...

at age 14 and studied sculpture under

Ernst Julius Hähnel Ernst Julius Hähnel (9 March 1811 – 22 May 1891) was a German sculptor and Professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. He is especially remembered for his public statuary. His works of art can be admired throughout Germany. Life He w ...

. In 1848 he made his debut at an exhibition held by the academy. He became a student of the painter

Eduard Bendemann Eduard Julius Friedrich Bendemann (3 December 1811, in Berlin – 27 December 1889, in Düsseldorf) was a German-Jewish painter. Biography Bendemann was born in Berlin. His father, Anton Heinrich Bendemann, was a Jewish banker. His mother, Fan ...

in that same year, but a short time later Dietrich moved, together with Leonhard Gey, to work in the studios of

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (26 March 1794 – 24 May 1872) () was a German painter, chiefly of Biblical subjects. As a young man he associated with the painters of the Nazarene movement who revived the florid Renaissance style in religious ...

. Despite positive reviews, Dietrich was unable to make a living as a freelance artist, so he also worked as an illustrator for various publishers and art dealers. Dietrich learned

techniques from Carl von Binzer and for a short time, was a master student of Von Carolsfeld. One of his first great works was ''Rudolf von Habsburg on the Corpse of the Ottoman of Bohemia'' which premiered at an exhibition and earned him an academic travel grant. With this financial support, Dietrich moved to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

from 1859 to 1860, where he became associated with the

Düsseldorf school of painting Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. From there he traveled to Italy, including Venice, Rome, and Naples. On his way home he stopped for several weeks in Munich and returned to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1865. Dietrich founded a studio in Dresden, where he created one of the first works of his series on

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

. Photographs of these works were soon circulated in large quantities. From 1868 to 1872 Dietrich was engaged in a commission to embellish the Gothic Hall of the

Kreuzschule The ''Kreuzschule'' (German for "School of the Cross") in Dresden (also known by its Latin name, ''schola crucis'') is the oldest surviving school in Dresden and one of the oldest in Germany. As early as 1300, a schoolmaster (''Cunradus puerorum re ...

with historical frescoes.''The Schools of Modern Art in Germany'', Joseph Beavington Atkinson, 1881 In 1878 he completed another commission, the fresco ''Paul Preaches at the Areopagus in Athens'', based on ''

Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-par ...

'' chapter 17, verses 22–23. Dietrich also created the image on the gable of the Saxony Ministry of Finance building, which was built in 1894. It represents Saxonia surrounded by arts and government revenues. Dietrich took a position at the

Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig The Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) or Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig is one of the oldest art schools in Germany, dating back to 1764. The academy has four colleges specializing in fine arts, graphic design, photography and new media ar ...

(HGB) (Academy of Visual Arts in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

), where he died at the age of 71 on 4 August 1904.

Selected works

* ''Rudolf von Habsburg on the Corpse of the Ottoman of Bohemia'' * ''Otto the Great'' (series) * ''Paul Preaches at the Areopagus in Athens'' – mural in the auditorium of the Christian Weise Gymnasium in Zittau, Saxony * ''Henry I'' – fresco in Albrecht Castle, Meissen * ''Christ Calming the Tempest'' – inspired a stained glass window in

Stanford Memorial Church Stanford Memorial Church (also referred to informally as MemChu) is located on the Main Quad at the center of the Stanford University campus in Stanford, California, United States. It was built during the American RenaissanceGregg, p. 34 by ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietrich, Anton 1833 births 1904 deaths People from Meissen Artists from the Kingdom of Saxony 19th-century German painters German male painters Painters from Saxony 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists 19th-century German male artists Academic staff of the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig

Biography

Selected works

See also

References