Ernst Deger (15 April 1809,

Bockenem Bockenem (; Eastphalian: ''Bokeln'') is a town in the district of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany that was founded in 1154. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Surrounding villages *Jerze *Königsdahlum *Bornum *Mahlum *Schlewecke ...

– 27 January 1885,

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 ...

) was a German religious artist, in the style of the

Nazarene movement The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...

. He is considered to be the main representative of Christian art in the Düsseldorfer Malerschule.

Life and work

He began his studies in 1828, at the Berlin Art Academy, then moved to 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 ...

, where he studied with

Wilhelm von Schadow Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow (7 September 1789 – 19 March 1862) was a German Romantic painter. Biography He was born in Berlin, the second son of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow, who gave him his first lessons in drawing. He then turn ...

. From 1834 to 1835, he was a student in the Master Class. On behalf of the (Artists' Association), he created an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

for the Church of St. Andreas, showing Mary as the

Queen of Heaven Queen of Heaven () is a title given by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, to Mary, mother of Jesus, and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism and Lutheranism. The title has long been a tradition, included in prayers and devotional literat ...

. Following its unveiling in 1837, it became one of the region's most popular religious images and found its way into numerous Catholic prayer books as a small

andachtsbilder ''Andachtsbilder'' (singular ''Andachtsbild'', German for devotional image) is a German term often used in English in art history for Christian devotional images designed as aids for prayer or contemplation. The images "generally show holy figu ...

(devotional image). A notable feature is its depiction of Jesus as a toddler, rather than an infant. From 1837 to 1842, he travelled through Italy. After his return, on behalf of Count Franz Egon von Fürstenberg-Stammheim, he worked with Karl Müller, Andreas Müller and Franz Ittenbach, creating

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 ...

es of scenes from the life of Christ at the Apollinariskirche, Remagen. This project kept him occupied until 1851. His next major project, commissioned by King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...

, involved a series of wall paintings at

Stolzenfels Castle Stolzenfels Castle () is a former medieval fortress castle ("Burg") turned into a palace, near Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Stolzenfels was a ruined 13th-century castle, gifted to the Prussi ...

. During its final phases, he was assisted by Peter Molitor, a struggling young artist from

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. This has come to be considered his most important work. In 1860, he began teaching at his alma mater, the Kunstakademie. He was appointed Professor of religious history painting in 1869. His best-known students included and Friedrich Stummel. Many of his works have been widely distributed through reproductions.

Biblical scenes represented

*Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden *Fall *Cain slams Abel *Sacrifice of Isaac *King David *Annunciation of Mary *Worshipping the Child *Crucifixion *Resurrection of Christ *Ascension of Christ *Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Sources

* Friedrich Noack, "Deger, Ernst", In: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol. 8: Coutan–Delattre, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1912
Online
* * Stadt Bockenem, ''Ausstellung zum 100. Todestag des Historienmalers Ernst Deger''. Kultur- und Fremdenverkehrsamt, Bockenem 1985 * Anne Schiffer: ''Die malerische Ausstattung der Schlosskapelle von Stolzenfels durch Ernst Deger. Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts''. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 1992,

External links

in the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' @ New Advent * * ''Akademische Feier zum Andenken an Ernst Deger, geb. 1809, gest. 1885'', Düsseldorf, Henry, 1885
Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deger, Ernst 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters Religious artists Nazarene painters Düsseldorf school of painting 1809 births 1885 deaths