Fritz Von Uhde
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Fritz von Uhde (born Friedrich Hermann Carl Uhde; 22 May 1848 – 25 February 1911) was a German
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 ...
of
genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
and religious subjects. His style lay in-between Realism and
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
, he was once known as "Germany's outstanding impressionist" and he became one of the first painters to introduce ''
plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French language, 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 ai ...
'' painting in his country.


Biography

Uhde was born in Wolkenburg,
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
. His family, moderately wealthy civil servants, had artistic interests. His father was actually a part-time painter and his maternal grandfather was director of the Royal Museums 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 ...
. Uhde found art appealing while studying at the Gymnasium at this city, and in 1866 he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden. Totally at variance with the spirit prevailing there, later that year he left his studies to join the army. He became horsemanship instructor to the regiment of the assembled guard, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1868. After meeting the painter Makart in Vienna in 1876, Uhde left the army in 1877 with the intention to become an artist. He moved to
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
in that year to attend the Academy of Fine Arts. There, he particularly came to admire the Dutch old masters, especially
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
. He also taught Lilla Cabot Perry, influencing her use of color. Unsuccessful in his attempts to gain admittance to the studios of Piloty, Lindenschmit, or Diez, in 1879 he 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 ...
where his studies of the Dutch painters continued under Mihály Munkácsy's supervision. He worked for a short time in that master's studio, but principally studied from nature and his old Netherland models. As a late starter in his art studies, he was determined to succeed quickly. The final work he painted at Munkácsy's school, ''The Singer'', was exhibited in the
Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...
of 1880, where it was awarded an honorable mention. In 1882 a journey to the Netherlands brought about a change in his style, as he abandoned the dark
chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...
he had learned in Munich in favor of a colorism informed by the works of the French Impressionists.Forster-Hahn, et al. 2001, p. 178 Encouraged by his contemporary
Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...
, whose portrait he painted, Uhde painted ''Fishermen's Children in Zandvoort'' (1882) as an experiment in
plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French language, 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 ai ...
painting, but chose to exhibit a more conventional version of the composition, the ''Arrival of the Organ-Grinder'' (1883; Kunsthalle Hamburg).Brand, ''Oxford Art Online'' This conflict between innovation and caution characterized the greater part of his career. In about 1890, Uhde became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He was, with
Max Slevogt Max Slevogt (8 October 1868 – 20 September 1932) was a German Impressionist painter and illustrator, best known for his landscapes. He was, together with Lovis Corinth and Max Liebermann, one of the foremost representatives in Germany of t ...
, Ludwig Dill and
Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Secessio ...
, one of the founding members of the ''Verein Bildender Künstler'' (Society of Fine Artists), better known as the
Munich Secession The Munich Secession (German language, German Münchener Secession) was an association of visual artists who broke away from the mainstream Munich Artists' Association in 1892, to promote and defend their art in the face of what they considered ...
. He later joined the Berlin Secession as well. Uhde became an honorary member of the academies of Munich, Dresden and Berlin. He became the first President of the Secession, and progressing in his naturalistic conception, he came to develop his own "unacademic" syle. He gave rise to a complete change in German art, and counted among his followers most of the younger generation. Adolf Hölzel was influenced by him in his early work. He became less active in the art world after 1900, but continued to paint until his last days. This was the time when, in the opinion of Charles & Carl, he created "the most vivid and artistic paintings of his career", so that he can be considered "one of the most important artists of the 20th century". He died in Munich in 1911.


Work

His early work consisted of landscapes and battle pieces, but Uhde's inclination was later almost solely directed towards genre art and religious subjects. His father had been the President of the
Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
Council in Wolkenburg, Saxony, and Uhde shared his father's Christian commitment.West (2000), p. 21 Although the
social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
of Uhde's work was often criticized as vulgar or ugly, his paintings also attracted the admiration of others. His work was well known to the French public.
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
mentioned Uhde in personal correspondence. The critic
Otto Julius Bierbaum Otto Julius Bierbaum (28 June 1865 – 1 February 1910) was a German writer. Bierbaum was born in Grünberg, Silesia. After studying in Leipzig, he became a journalist and editor for the journals ''Die freie Bühne'', ''Pan'' and '' Die Insel'' ...
, who prepared a biographical writing of him, said "as a painter of children ... Uhde is extraordinarily distinguished. He does not depict them ... as amusing or charming dolls, but with extreme, very strict naturalness." Revivalist of the practice of treating
Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
episodes realistically by transferring them to modern days, Uhde's work was also appreciated by others who praised his symbolic message and sense of evangelical morality. In his work, Uhde often depicted the ordinary lives of families of
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
s,
fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...
, and seamstresses; children and youngsters, as well as young and old women. He chose both indoor and outdoor settings, with detailed and ordinary surroundings, and often natural colorful landscapes. In addition, he frequently depicted
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
as visiting common people, poor people and
working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
or proletarian families in settings of his country. Like Adolf Hölzel and Ludwig Dill, he painted rural life and his work has been described as "rustic naturalism". One of his well-known paintings was ''Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest'' (Komm, Herr Jesus, sei unser Gast), of the Berlin National Gallery, where Christ appears among the peasant family assembled for their meal in a modern German farmhouse "parlor". This work was especially criticized by some Catholics who saw it as a "desecration" of Christ, whereas R. A. Cram wrote that by painting "Christ among the common people here and now" Uhde had "built up a most significant art." The religious content has been seen as "a vehicle for his quest to endow his work with deeper meaning". According to the art historian Bettina Brand, Uhde's work was controversial partly because "setting episodes from the Gospels in the context of contemporary poverty ... suggested that the Christian demand of equality for all men had not been met politically or socially." Besides this, his religious paintings "seemed to document the cultural and ethical progressivenes of Protestantism against the clericalism of the Catholic Church." File:Fritz von Uhde - Lasset die Kinderlein zu mir kommen, 1884 (Leipzig).jpg, ''Let the little children come to me'' (1883) File:Fritz von Uhde - Christus mit den Bauern (ca.1887-88).jpg, ''Christ with a Farm Family'' (–88) File:The Last Supper (1886), by Fritz von Uhde.jpg, ''The Last Supper'' (1886) File:Fritz von Uhde - Der Gang nach Emmaus (1891).jpg, ''Road to Emmaus'' (1891)


Style

In general, Uhde was an unconventional
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, as he said: "many of the French artists wished to find the light in Nature. I wished to find the light within the figure that I was presenting. In Christ I grasped the embodiment of the outward and the inward light." Like Dostoyevsky, Uhde's concept of beauty and standard of perfection was the figure of Christ, a reason why he considered himself the "first Idealist of Naturalism." In ''The Sermon on the Mount'' (
Hungarian National Gallery The Hungarian National Gallery (also known as Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, ), was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the w ...
), Christ addresses a crowd of 19th-century
harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
ers, whereas in ''Christus Predigt am see'' (''Sermon at the Sea''), Christ preaches to a group of modern youngsters. Similar in conception are ''Suffer Little Children to come unto Me'' (1884; Leipzig Museum), ''The Last Supper'', ''The Journey to Bethlehem'' ( Munich Pinakothek), and ''The Miraculous Draught of Fishes''. Other works of his in public collections are: ''Christ Among the Peasants'' (the
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
, Paris); ''Christ at Emmaus'' & ''Road to Emmaus'' (the Staedel Institute, Frankfort); ''The Farewell of Tobias'' (the Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna), ''Noli me tangere'' (1894; New Pinakothek, Munich), ''The Wise Men from the East'' (1896; Magdeburg Museum), and ''Woman, Why Weepest Thou?'' (1900; Vienna Museum). After his wife's death in 1886, Uhde was very involved in the lives of his three daughters, whom he painted in numerous works such as ''Nursery'' (1889; Kunsthalle, Hamburg) and ''In the Bower'' (1896; Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf).Frye Foundation & Museum Villa Stuck, Munich (2009).
The Munich Secession and America. A Guide for Educators and Students
''. 24 January – 12 April, p. 18.
Works he painted during summers spent at Dachau and Starnberg in the 1890s show an increasingly Impressionistic rendering of sunlight, which is also evident in paintings Uhde made after the late 1890s of his daughters in the garden. In his later years, he made paintings of a woman with wings of angels, and he reproduced some biblical scenes like ''Abraham's Trial'' (1897), ''The Last Supper'' (1897, Stuttgart Museum – which includes a portrait of the unworldly composer
Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...
as one of the disciples),''The Ascension of Christ'' (1898, New Pinakothek, Munich), ''Nicodemus and Christ'', ''Die Bergpredigt'', ''The Sermon'' (''Die Predigt Christi'', 1903), ''Tobias and the Angel'', ''The Holy Night'' (1911, Dresden Gallery), and ''Christ Healing a Sick Child'' (1911).


Gallery

File:Fritz von Uhde - In der Sommerfrische (1883).jpg, ''Summer Resort'' (1883) File:Der Zug der heiligen drei Könige. Holländische Näherinnen, 1883.jpg, ''Sisters in the Sewing Room'' (1883) File:At the door, 1885.jpg, ''At the Door'' (1885) File:Fritz von Uhde - Christus und Nikodemus (ca.1886).jpg, ''Christus and Nicodemus'' (1896)
Oil on wood File:Fritz v Uhde Schwerer Gang (1).jpg, ''Road to Bethlehem''; also known as ''The Difficult Journey'' (1890) File:1890 Uhde Am Fenster anagoria.JPG, ''At the Window'' (1890) File:1890 Uhde Portrait Therese Karl anagoria.JPG, ''Portrait of Therese Karl'' (1890) File:Hirtin im Dachauer Moos Fritz von Uhde.jpg, ''Shepherdess at the Dachau Camp'' (1890) File:Winter landscape. Christmas Eve, 1890.jpg, ''Winter Landscape'' (1890) File:Kind mit Puppe, 1885.jpg, ''Child with a Doll'' (1895) File:Christi Himmelfahrt,1897.jpg, ''The Ascension of Christ'' (1897) File:Girls on the Veranda, 1901.jpg, ''Girls on the Veranda'' (1901) File:In the Garden, 1901.jpg, ''In the Garden'' (1901) File:Fritz v Uhde Lesendes Mädchen (1).jpg, ''The reading girl'' (1902) File:Fritz von Uhde - Mädchen auf der Treppe (ca.1910).jpg, ''Seated Angel on the Stairs'' (1910) File:Fritz von Uhde Heilige Nacht.jpg, ''Holy Night'' (1911)


Notes


References

* Brand, Bettina. "Uhde, Fritz von". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University Press. Web. * * Forster-Hahn, Françoise, et al. (2001). ''Spirit of an Age: Nineteenth-Century Paintings From the Nationalgalerie, Berlin''. London: National Gallery Company. * Fraser, W. Lewis. (1897). ''A Religious Painter, Fritz Von Uhde''. * Jongeneel, Jan A. B. (2009). ''Jesus Christ in World History: His Presence and Representation in Cyclical and Linear Settings''. Peter Lang. * Uhr, Horst (1990). ''Lovis Corinth''. University of California Press. * West, Shearer (2000). ''The Visual Arts in Germany 1890–1937: Utopia and Despair''. Manchester University Press, , 9780719052798 *


Further reading

* Ostini, Fritz, Freiherr von (1902), '' Uhde.''. Bielefeld : Velhagen & Klasing. * Rosenhagen, Hans (1908).
Uhde: des Meisters Gemälde in 285 Abbildungen
'. Stuttgart. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. * Stickley, Gustav (1911).
The Craftsman
', Volume 20. United Crafts, p. 631 * Vogel, Gerd-Helge (2013).
Fritz von Uhde, 1848–1911: Beiträge des 1. Internationalen Wolkenburger Symposiums zur Kunst vom 20. bis 22. Mai 2011 auf Schloss Wolkenburg
'- 2013. Lukas Verlag.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uhde, Fritz von 1848 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Christians 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters German Protestants