August Kopisch (26 May 1799 – 6 February 1853) was a German poet and painter.

Biography

Kopisch was born on 26 May 1799 in Breslau, Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland). In 1815 he began studying painting at the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

academy, but an injury to his hand damaged his prospects of success as an artist, and he turned to literature. After residences in

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 ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Kopisch proceeded in 1822 to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. At

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

he became close friends with the poet August von Platen-Hallermünde; and when out swimming he and the painter Ernst Fries discovered the " Blue Grotto" of

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

. In 1828 he settled at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and was granted a pension by Frederick William IV of Prussia, who in 1838 conferred upon him the title of professor. In 1847 he moved to Potsdam and wrote an account of royal residences there and in the neighborhood. He died on 6 February 1853 at Berlin.

Works

Kopisch produced some original poetry, light in language and in form. He specialised in re-telling legends and popular subjects, and among his ''Gedichte'' (Berlin, 1836) are some naïve and humorous little ballads such as ''Die Historie von

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

'', ''Die Heinzelmännchen zu Köln'', ''Das grüne Tier'' and ''Der Schneiderjunge von Krippstedt'', which became popular. He also published a translation of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'' (Berlin, 1840), and under the title ''Agrumi'' (Berlin, 1838) a collection of translations of Italian folk songs.

Literature

*''Agrumi, volksthümliche Posien aus allen Mundarten Italiens und seiner Inseln''. Crantz Verlag, Berlin 1838. *''Allerlei Geister. Gedichte und Erzählungen''. Mörike Verlag, München 1913 (mit der Ballade ''Die Heinzelmännchen zu Köln'') *Dieter Richter (Hrsg.): '' Entdeckung der blauen Grotte auf der Insel Capri''. Wagenbach Verlag, Berlin 1997, *''Die göttliche Komödie des Dante Alighieri. Metrische Uebersetzung nebst beigedrucktem Originaltexte''. Brachvogel & Raubtiere, ist sehr berühmt geworden. *''Gedichte'' (1836) *''Die Heinzelmännchen zu

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

''. Emons, Köln 2007, . *''Ein Karnevalsfest auf Ischia''. Hausen, Saarlouis 1892. *''Die königlichen Schlösser und Gärten zu Potsdam. Von der Zeit ihrer Gründung bis zum Jahre 1852''. Ernst & Korn, Berlin 1854. *''Mein allererstes Märchenbuch: Die Heinzelmännchen zu Köln''. Edition Paletti, Köln 2004, . *''Der Träumer''. Hübener, Berlin 1948. *Carl Böttcher (Hrsg.): ''Gesammelte Werke'' (Collected works). Weidmann, Berlin 1856 (5 Bde.) *''Der Krater des Vesuvs mit der Eruption von 1828'' (1828) *''Ein Schiff auf dem Meere von Delphinen umschwärmt'' *''Die Pontinischen Sümpfe'' (1848)

Notes

References

External links

August Kopisch at Web Gallery of Art

Works by August Kopisch
at Projekt Gutenberg-DE * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopisch, August 1799 births 1853 deaths Writers from Wrocław Artists from the Province of Silesia Writers from the Province of Silesia Capri, Campania German male poets 19th-century German poets 19th-century German male writers Poets from the Kingdom of Prussia Translators of Dante Alighieri