Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Edward Magnus 1846

Eduard Magnus (January 7, 1799 – August 8, 1872) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, primarily known for portraits.

Biography

Magnus was born in

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 ...

as the third son of Johann Matthias Magnus, the founder of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Magnus-Bank. He studied simultaneously at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

Bauakademie The Bauakademie (Building Academy, also known as the ''Schinkelsche Bauakademie'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education institution for the art of building to train master builders. Founded on 18 March 1799 by King Frederick William II ...

, and

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, becoming educated in medicine, architecture, and philosophy. He took to painting, as a student of

Jakob Schlesinger Jakob Schlesinger, also Johann Jakob Schlesinger (born 13 January 1792 in Worms; died 12 May 1855 in Berlin) was a German painter and restorer. Early years Johann Jacob Schlesinger was born the son of the painter Johann Adam Schlesinger (1 ...

, exhibiting for the first time in 1826 with promising results. He later traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

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 ...

, returning to Germany in 1829. He went to Italy again in 1831, and traveled through Paris and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

before returning again in 1835. In 1837 he became a member of the Academy of Art, and in 1844 a professor. From 1850 to 1853 he traveled to France and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He died in 1872 in Berlin. He was for a time the preeminent portrait painter in Berlin. Eduard Magnus, who was Jewish, was the elder brother of the physicist and chemist

Heinrich Gustav Magnus Heinrich Gustav Magnus (; 2 May 1802 – 4 April 1870) was a German experimental scientist. His training was mostly in chemistry but his later research was mostly in physics. He spent the great bulk of his career at the University of Berlin, wher ...

Works

In Italy, Magnus produced two pictures, entitled ''The Return of the Palikaren'', and ''The Benediction of the Grandson'', which won him considerable renown. Amongst his productions in the genre school, most of which have been engraved by Mandel, Trossin, and others, ''Two Young Girls at Sunrise'' and ''Two Children'' are prominent. He also painted portraits, amongst others, of

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria Lind (Madame Goldschmidt) (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in ...

Henriette Sontag Henriette Sontag, born Gertrude Walpurgis Sontag, and, after her marriage, entitled Henriette, Countess Rossi (3 January 1806 – 17 June 1854), was a German operatic soprano of great international renown. She possessed a sweet-toned, lyrical voi ...

Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

, and the Prussian General Field Marshal Wrangel. Magnus gained high reputation as a portrait-painter, his productions in this department being marked by strong individuality and powerful colouring. The ''Golden Age'' is also a notable work, distinguished by great natural simplicity, reminiscent of Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

's pictures of a similar class of subject. It was one of the most attractive works exhibited at the

in 1839. It was purchased by the Art-Union Society of that city, and at the distribution of prizes fell to the lot of the Baron Werther, Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was afterwards engraved by Edward Mandel for the Society, who distributed it among their subscribers in 1843.

Writings

*''Ueber Einrichtung und Beleuchtung von Räumen zur Aufstellung von Gemälden und Sculpturen'' (On the arrangement and lighting of spaces for the display of paintings and sculpture; Berlin, 1864) *''Die Polychromie vom künstlerischen Standpunkte'' (Polychromy from an artistic standpoint; Bonn, 1872).

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus, Eduard 1799 births 1872 deaths 19th-century German painters German male painters Painters from Berlin Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Writers from Berlin Prussian Academy of Arts alumni German male writers 19th-century German male artists Painters from the Kingdom of Prussia