Hermann Lungkwitz (March 14, 1813 – February 10, 1891) was a 19th-century German-born Texas romantic landscape artist and photographer whose work became the first pictorial record of the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

Early life

Karl Friedrich Hermann Lungkwitz was born on March 14, 1813, in Halle,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

to hosiery manufacturer Johann Gottfried Lungkwitz and his wife Friederike Wilhelmine (Hecht) Lungkwitz. Lungkwitz was enrolled at the

Dresden Academy of Fine Arts The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German language, German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institutio ...

from 1840 to 1843 and received his artistic training under the tutelage of

Adrian Ludwig Richter Adrian Ludwig Richter (September 28, 1803June 19, 1884) was a German painter and etcher, who was strongly influenced by Erhard and Chodowiecki. He was a representative of both Romanticism and Biedermeier styles. He was the most popular, a ...

. After receiving an academy certificate of achievement in 1843 for his sketch of the

Elbe River The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Germany and flo ...

, Lungkwitz spent the next three years honing his artistic skills in

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...

and the

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Lungkwitz and his brother-in-law

Friedrich Richard Petri Friedrich Richard Petri (1824–1857) was a Kingdom of Saxony-born Texas painter whose works recorded life in the original German immigrant settlements, and portrayed Native American tribes in family settings. Early life Friedrich Richard Petri ...

joined other students in the failed 1849

May Uprising in Dresden The May Uprising took place in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony in 1849; it was one of the last of the series of events known as the Revolutions of 1848. Events leading to the May Uprising In the German states, revolutions began in March 1848, start ...

, an event at the tail end of the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

resulting from the refusal of Frederick Augustus II to recognize a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

Texas

In 1850, the Lungkwitz and Petri families emigrated to the United States, landing first in New York City. They migrated to

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

, but decided on the destination of Texas in 1851. In 1852, the two families bought a 320-acre farm for $400 in the settlement of

Pedernales, Texas Pedernales was an early settlement of German immigrants in Gillespie County, Texas, United States, and was part of the Adelsverein colonization of Texas. No trace of the settlement remains today. It was located southwest of Fredericksburg near ...

, near Fredericksburg and took up farming and cattle ranching. The families remained there until 1864, although Petri drowned in the

Pedernales River The Pedernales River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in Central Texas in the United States. It drains an area of the Edwards Plateau, flowing west to east across the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. The name "Ped ...

in 1857. Lungkwitz continued to create paintings of the Texas Hill Country, one of his favorite subjects being

Enchanted Rock Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain located in the Llano Uplift about north of Fredericksburg, Texas and south of Llano, Texas, United States. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, which includes Enchanted Rock and surrounding land, spans ...

, of which he painted at least six landscapes: The artist created in great detail in both pencil drawings and paintings. In addition to Gillespie County vistas, his Texas subjects were the German settlements of

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north of San Antonio, and part ...

and Sisterdale, the Hamilton Pool and West Cave at Round Mountain, Marble Falls, and areas around Austin and San Antonio. From 1866–1870, Lungkwitz ran a

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

photography studio with Carl G. von Iwonski. In 1870 he accepted an $1,800 a year appointment in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

as photographer for the

Texas General Land Office The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School F ...

under commissioner

Jacob Kuechler Jacob Kuechler (February 18, 1823 – April 4, 1893) was a surveyor, conscientious objector during the American Civil War, and commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. Kuechler pioneered the science of dendrochronology to date natural even ...

, brother-in-law to

. He held the position for the entirety of the administration of Governor Edmund J. Davis. His daughter Martha Lungkwitz Bickler also received an appointment as Texas General Land Office clerk in an era where few women worked in state government. In 1877, Martha's husband Jacob Bickler founded the Texas German and English Academy in Austin, where Lungkwitz taught drawing and painting. Bickler became superintendent of

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

public schools in 1887, and also founded the Bickler Academy in Austin in 1892. Lungkwitz gave private lessons at both Austin and Galveston whenever he visited the Bicklers. In Blanco County, Lungkwitz assisted his daughter Eva and her husband Richard Klappenbach on their sheep ranch near Johnson City.

Personal life and death

Lungkwitz married Elisabeth "Elise" Petri, sister of

. The couple had six children. Elisabeth died in 1880 and is buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas. Lungkwitz died in Austin on February 10, 1891, and is buried next to his wife. Lungkwitz is the great-great-grandfather of American photographer

Rocky Schenck Rocky Schenck (born April 18, 1955) is an American photographer and music video director. Schenck has photographed several album covers and has written and directed numerous music videos and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portra ...

Hermann Lungkwitz gallery

All works are oil paintings. Dates, dimensions, and collections unknown if not provided File:Kriebstein (by Hermann Lungkwitz).jpg, ''Kriebstein Castle in Saxony Germany'', 1848 File:Halle an der Saale.jpg, ''Halle an der Saale'' File:Cemetery by a Ruined Gothic Church.jpg, ''Cemetery by a Ruined Gothic Church'' File:The Old Pinta Crossing on the Guadalupe.jpg, ''The Old Pinta Crossing on the Guadalupe'', ca. 1850s File:Alameda (by Hermann Lungkwitz).jpg, ''Alameda'' File:Hubbard Farm of Dana on Chapline Hill.jpg, ''Hubbard Farm of Dana on Chapline Hill'', 1851 File:Herons on the Pedernales River.jpg, ''Herons on the Pedernales River'', 1855 File:Guenther's Mill on Live Oak Creek.jpg, Guenther's Mill on Live Oak Creek, 1855 File:Mission San Juan de Capistrano.jpg, ''Mission San Juan de Capistrano'', 1856 File:Lewis Grist Mill.jpg, ''Lewis Grist Mill'', 1856 File:Crockett Street Looking West, San Antonio de Bexar.jpg, ''Crockett Street Looking West, San Antonio de Bexar'', 1857 File:Hermann Lungkwitz - Guadalupe River Landscape (1862).jpg, ''Hill Country Landscape'', 1862, (46.7 x 60.5 cm.), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston File:On Shoal Creek, Austin.jpg, ''On Shoal Creek, Austin'' File:Yellow Boulders on Bear Mountain.jpg, ''Yellow Boulders on Bear Mountain'' File:Texas Military Institute, Austin.jpg, ''Texas Military Institute, Austin'', 1874 File:Falls of the Colorado, Austin.jpg, ''Falls of the Colorado, Austin'', 1875 File:August Schroeter Ranch on the Colorado River.jpg, ''August Schroeter Ranch on the Colorado River'', 1882 File:Paggi's Mill on Barton Creek.jpg, ''Paggi's Mill on Barton Creek'', 1885

Selected works

*''Sunset in Saxony'' (1846) *''Old Pinta Crossing the Guadalupe'' (1857) *''Crockett Street Looking West'' (1857) *''Guadalupe River Landscape'' (1862) *''Enchanted Rock, Near Fredericksburg'' (1864) *''Texas Military Institute'' (1874) *''Taylor's Lime Kiln'' (1875) *''Paggi's Mill on Barton Creek, Austin'' (1876)

Notes

References

External links

UT-Austin Harry Ransom Center-Texas Artists—Art of the Western Frontier
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lungkwitz, Hermann 19th-century German painters 19th-century American male artists German male painters 19th-century American painters American male painters 1813 births 1891 deaths Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia People from New Braunfels, Texas Artists from Austin, Texas Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) German-American culture in Texas Artists from Halle (Saale) Painters from Saxony-Anhalt Painters from Texas Immigrants to the United States