Lorenz Clasen (14 December 1812,

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 ...

- 31 May 1899,

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

) was a German history painter and author; best known for his frequently reproduced painting, "Germania auf der Wacht am Rhein" (

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

at Watch on the Rhein), in the town hall of

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 ...

, which was inspired by the popular song ''

Die Wacht am Rhein "" (, ''The Watch on the Rhine'') is a German patriotic anthem. The song's origins are rooted in the historical French–German enmity, and it was particularly popular in Germany during the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II. Th ...

''.

Biography

At the request of his father, he began by studying law at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, but switched 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 ...

in 1829, where he studied art with Rudolf Wiegmann instead. His early works were mostly religious in nature. In addition to painting, he worked as an art critic; providing reviews for numerous local and foreign publications. In 1842, he moved to

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

, where he served as a tutor for Prince Maximilian. Over the next few years, he produced historical paintings and created

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 for the

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...

Town Hall (now the

Von der Heydt Museum The Von der Heydt Museum is a museum in Wuppertal, Germany. The Von der Heydt Museum includes works by artists from the 17th century to the present time. History The museum is housed in the former city hall of Elberfeld, which in 1902 became ...

). During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, he served as a Deputy Commander of the Bürgerwehr (

Vigilance committee A vigilance committee is a group of private citizens who take it upon themselves to administer law and order or exercise power in places where they consider the governmental structures or actions inadequate. Prominent historical examples of vigi ...

). When his cousin, Lorenz Cantador, resigned, he was promoted to Commander. From 1847 to 1849, he was Chief Editor of the ', a satirical monthly. Then, after a brief stay in Berlin, he settled permanently in

sometime in the early 1850s. While there, he served as an editor at the ''Familien-Journal''. Later, he produced "Germania at Watch by the Sea", but it never became as popular as the original.

Selected writings

* ''Lagerscenen, gesammelt auf dem Manöver zu Salzkotten'', (Camp Scenes, Collected on Maneuvers in

Salzkotten Salzkotten () is a town in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name Salzkotten (in English, "Salt cottages") is based in the former salt production, which gave Salzkotten its wikt:raison d'être, raison d'être. Salt ...

...a Humorous Essay), 1836 * ''Des Kunstfreundes Reiseabenteuer'' (An Art-Friendly Travel Adventure), Hoffmann & Campe 1847 (Published under the name "Lorenz Hempel"
Full Text online
@ Google Books * ''Der Einzug des Teufels in Leipzig, von einem Inspirirten – ein Büchlein für Kluge und Dumme'' (The Entry of the Devil into Leipzig...an Inspirational Book for the Wise and Foolish), originally confiscated on grounds that it "offended the church", but later reissued. * ''Erlebtes und Verwebtes; aus der Schreibmappe eines Malers.'' (The Everyday and the Strange: From a Painter's Notebook), Novellas.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clasen, Lorenz 1812 births 1899 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German history painters German male painters German art critics Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni German editors Painters from Düsseldorf