Eduard Kaempffer (13 May 1859 in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

– 22 March 1926 in Obernigk) was a German painter, sculptor and

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

Life and work

From 1875 to 1880, he studied with

Eduard von Gebhardt Franz Karl Eduard von Gebhardt (13 June 1838 – 3 February 1925) was a Baltic German painter of portraits and historical scenes, and a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Biography He was born to Ferdinand Theodor von Gebhardt (1803� ...

and Peter Janssen 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, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

. Then, from 1880 to 1881, he was enrolled at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

, where he studied advanced techniques with Ludwig von Löfftz and . In 1885, he returned to Düsseldorf and lived in one of the homes owned by the widow of , a noted landscape painter who had recently died. That same year, he spent some time in Rome; supported by a stipend from the Abraham Wetter Foundation. Two years later, he was awarded a scholarship from the same foundation for his altarpiece, " The Flagellation of Christ", designed for the in Bad Neuenahr, on behalf of the . In 1891, he was back in Munich. In 1893, 1894 und 1895 he was awarded small gold medals at the

Große Berliner Kunstausstellung Große Berliner Kunstausstellung (Great Berlin Art Exhibition), abbreviated GroBeKa or GBK, was an annual art exhibition that existed from 1893 to 1969 with intermittent breaks. In 1917 and 1918, during World War I, it was not held in Berlin bu ...

. Following his award in 1895, he was appointed to the Staatliche Akademie für Kunst und Kunstgewerbe Breslau, where he taught "drawing from nature" and figure painting, until 1924. His students there included , , and Carl Bantzer. He was also involved with the . Among his most important works are the cycle of paintings in the stairwell at the

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

Town hall, which were executed between 1889 and 1896. They depict scenes from the Tannhäuser legend, the saga of

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

, and the life of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

; among other subjects. In addition to small bronzes, his sculptures include figures of

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

and

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

, as well as a "

Lamentation of Christ The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus was crucified, his Descent from the Cross, body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over ...

Selected paintings

File:KaempfferKatzbachschlacht.jpg,

Battle of the Katzbach The Battle of the Katzbach on 26 August 1813, was a major battle of the Napoleonic Wars between the forces of the First French Empire under Marshal of France, Marshal Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald, MacDonald and a Imperial Russi ...

Kaempffer-Samaritan.jpg, The

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

Kaempffer-Woman.jpg, Portrait of a Woman Kaempffer-Nero.jpg, The Death of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

Sources

* "Kaempffer, Eduard", In: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol. 19: Ingouville–Kauffungen, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1926 * "Kaempffer, Eduard". In: Friedrich von Boetticher: ''Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts. Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte''. Vol.1/2, Heideck–Mayer, Boetticher’s Verlag, Dresden 1895, pg.641
Online
* Petra Hölscher: ''Die Akademie für Kunst und Kunstgewerbe zu Breslau. Wege einer Kunstschule 1791–1932.'' Ludwig, Kiel 2003,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaempffer, Eduard 1859 births 1926 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German history painters German sculptors Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni Artists from Münster Painters from North Rhine-Westphalia 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists