Johann Peter Theodor Janssen (12 December 1844,

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 ...

19 February 1908, Düsseldorf) 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 ...

historical painter.

Biography

Janssen was born in

, son of the engraver (1817–1894), by whom he was first instructed before studying at 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 ...

under

Karl Ferdinand Sohn Karl Ferdinand Sohn (10 December 1805 in Berlin – 25 November 1867 in Cologne) was a German painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography He was born in Berlin and started his studies at the age of eighteen under Friedrich Wilhelm ...

and

Eduard Bendemann Eduard Julius Friedrich Bendemann (3 December 1811, in Berlin – 27 December 1889, in Düsseldorf) was a German-Jewish painter. Biography Bendemann was born in Berlin. His father, Anton Heinrich Bendemann, was a Jewish banker. His mother, Fan ...

. He is principally known through a series of decorative works whose monumental style and sound naturalism won him a reputation as one of the foremost historical painters of his time. He became a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1877 and its director in 1895, and was elected a member of 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 ...

in 1885. 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 ...

, he worked also for

Emil Hünten Emil Johannes Hünten (19 January 1827 – 1 February 1902) was a German military painter. His works were often lithographed. Biography Born in Paris on 19 January 1827, the son of the composer, Franz Hünten, he studied art under Hippolyte ...

. He was the brother of sculptor Karl Janssen, whose works include the in Düsseldorf, and "" ("Stonebreaking Woman"), which is owned by the

Alte Nationalgalerie The Alte Nationalgalerie ( ''Old National Gallery'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia according to ...

in Berlin. Janssen's grandson (19061979) was also a painter.

Works

Janssen's significant murals include: * "" ("Colonization of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

Provinces by the Hansa. 1201."), in the New Exchange in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

(1872) * "" ("The Myth of

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

"), 11 (possibly 12) part mural sequence, in what was formerly named the "second Cornelius Room" () of the

in Berlin (18741876) * Six large and three smaller murals of scenes from the history of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, in the (ballroom) of the (completed in 1882) * A group of frieze and ceiling paintings: "" ("Human Life"), "" ("Imagination"), "" ("Beauty"), and "" ("Nature"), in the (auditorium) of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (18861896) * Seven part mural sequence of scenes from the legend of ''Otto der Schütz'' (Otto the Archer) and the history of

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

, in the (auditorium) of the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

's (Old University) building (18951903) Some of Janssen's significant oil paintings: * "" ("The

Denial of Peter The Denial of Peter (or Peter's Denial) refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in all four Gospels of the New Testament. All four Canonical Gospels state that during Jesus's Last Supper with his disciples, he ...

"), completed in 1869, was once owned by the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. * "" ("The Childhood of

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

)", completed in 1882, was displayed at the "" ("International Art Exhibition") held in

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 1883. * "" ("Walther Dodde and the Peasants of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

at the

Battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now part of Chorweiler, the northernmost borough (Stadtbezirk) of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succe ...

"), completed in 1893, was first exhibited in the , and is now displayed in the . The New International Encyclopedia described it as "a composition of great dramatic power, containing many life-size figures". In 1893 it earned Janssen a "great gold medal" at the first (Great Berlin Art Exhibition).

Selected paintings

File:Hermann (Arminius) at the battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE by Peter Jannsen, 1873, with painting creases and damage removed.jpg,
("The Victorious Advancing Hermann")
—

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

, completed in 1873 File:FriedrichBarbarossa.jpg, Submission of

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

— Erfurt, completed in 1882 File:Worringen 1288.jpg,
("Walther Dodde and the Peasants of Berg at the Battle of Worringen")
— displayed in Düsseldorf, completed in 1893 File:Peter Janssen, Kaiser Friedrich II.jpg,
(" Emperor Friedrich II Dismisses

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

Moving to

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, ...

1236")
— Marburg, 18951903

Sources

References

Notes

External links

Janssen's life and art

Entry in the 6th edition of
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janssen, Peter 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists 1844 births 1908 deaths Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Academic staff of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf German history painters Painters from Düsseldorf