Friedrich Klein-Chevalier (18 June 1861,

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 ...

- 14 March 1938,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

) was a German history and portrait painter, associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule.

Biography

His father was a military officer. From 1884 to 1886, he attended 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 the history painter, Johann Peter Theodor Janssen, then with the architect Adolf Schill, who taught him decorative painting. He soon received commissions for panel paintings, theater curtains and similar venues, which brought him recognition for his historical works . In 1892, he entered a competition for a mural in the council chamber of the . His entry, an historical scene featuring

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine John William, Elector Palatine (''Jan Wellem'' in Low German, English: ''John William''; 19 April 1658 – 8 June 1716) of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Elector Palatine (1690–1716), Duke of Neuburg (1690–1716), Duke of Jülich and Ber ...

, came in second. Between 1894 and 1899, he was allowed to paint it on the wall of a hallway. In 1893/94, before beginning his mural, he spent some time in Rome, where he was influenced by the works of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

. A trip to New York in 1897 established his reputation as a portraitist, which resulted in numerous commissions from the nobility and upper-classes when he returned to Germany. He married Else Levinstein (1879–1939), the daughter of Jewish industrialist, in 1901. Shortly after, they moved to Berlin. They had three children. There, he increasingly devoted himself to painting en

plein aire ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

; making several trips to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. In 1907, he acquired a small villa near

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. The collapse of the monarchy at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

brought a decrease in commissions and a serious economic decline. After 1920, he lived in

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

, where he received his last major commission in 1923; for the city's millennial celebrations. He lived in Florence for several years; painting monumental pictures of flowers. In 1935 he went back to Germany, and died three years later in Wiesbaden. Else died the following year, not long before she was due to be "deported" to a

death camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

by the Nazi régime.Biographical data in: Claims Resolution Tribunal: ''Überwiesener Auszahlungsbescheid betreffend das Konto von Prof. Friedrich Klein-Chevalier'' (Az. CV96-4849)
Online
The rest of his family survived. His grandson,

Michael Chevalier Michael Chevalier (born 14 May 1933; died 11 July 2011) was a German voice actor born in Berlin. He provided the German dub voices for Charles Bronson (''Once Upon a Time in the West''), Richard Harris (''The Wild Geese''), Omar Sharif ('' Doctor ...

, became a well known

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

Selected paintings

KChevalier-Farmboy.jpg, Italian Farm Boy on His Way to Market File:KChevalier-Lady2.jpg, Lady on a Balcony File:KChevalier-Sailors.jpg, Sailors File:KChevalier-Fishermen.jpg, Fishermen on a North Sea Beach KChevalier-Riding.jpg, Lady in a Riding Costume

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein-Chevalier, Friedrich 1861 births 1938 deaths 19th-century German painters German portrait painters Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni German muralists Painters from Düsseldorf 20th-century German painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links